LA VICTORIA, Venezuela (AP) – Presidential candidates for Venezuela's main opposition coalition fostered an atmosphere of hope and possibility Saturday with massive rallies marking the beginning of a campaign they never imagined they would lead. I tried.
Ejimdo González Urrutia, a former diplomat voted by the coalition to replace fiery leader María Colina Machado, drew thousands of supporters to the streets of his hometown of La Victoria. .
He envisions a country where public services are not a luxury, where people are not imprisoned for their political beliefs, and where the millions of people who have emigrated over the past decade in search of better economic opportunities return. I urged them to do so.
“I guarantee a peaceful transition in which all political forces can exercise their rights within the framework of the constitution,” González told the retirees, young people, capital residents and locals who came to see him. As mentioned before. A once prosperous industrial city.
“I would like to call on all Venezuelans to participate in a peaceful and orderly transition of power. We will move from division to unity, from abuses by the few to the rule of law for all, and this We will move from an empty present to a dignified future for all. “
Mr. González was followed by Mr. Machado, who was barred from running in the July 28 election by President Nicolas Maduro's government. Despite the sweltering temperatures, the crowd cheered for both teams. Street vendors sold T-shirts and baseball caps advertising the couple for $10. Venezuelan flags were also on sale.
González is the third candidate independently endorsed by the United Platform opposition coalition this year.
Machado, a former lawmaker, easily won the presidential primary in October and entered 2024 as the group's candidate, but in January the Supreme Court, loyal to Venezuela's ruling party, issued an administrative decision to expel her from public office. Admitted. She appointed former academic Corinna Joris to replace her in March, but she was also barred from the vote. Four days later, the coalition elected González.
Maria Contreras, 75, of La Victoria state, arrived four and a half hours early for Saturday's rally, just as it was scheduled to be held. She waved at acquaintances who slowly began arriving, mostly on foot, to get a glimpse of Machado and González's mother, who was Contreras' fourth-grade teacher.
“We will get it done! I believe in God and every day I get on my knees and ask Him to bring back my grandchildren and children,” said Contreras, a former secretary. “I came here alone and hungry. It's horrible what happened to this community.”
Contreras said she cleans houses in exchange for food, and her $3-a-month pension is not enough to even buy a kilogram of cheese or a liter bottle of cooking oil.
La Victoria, about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of the capital, Caracas, was once home to an automobile assembly plant, a glass manufacturing company, and other industrial facilities. But those have been closed, and the city's streets are now lined with boarded-up businesses, including car dealerships and restaurants.
Mr. Gonzalez began his career in the late 1970s as an aide to the Venezuelan ambassador to the United States. He has been posted to Belgium and El Salvador, and served as Algerian ambassador to Caracas.
His last post was as ambassador to Argentina during the first years of President Hugo Chavez, who took power in 1999. Chávez transformed Venezuela with socialist policies, including nationalizing industries and instituting welfare programs. President Chávez handpicked Maduro to be his successor before dying of cancer in 2013.
Most recently, González worked as an international relations consultant and wrote historical works on Venezuela during World War II.
Surrounded by Machado, his wife, sister-in-law and daughter, Gonzalez confessed to the crowd in La Victoria that he had “never” wanted to run for public office but had agreed to become president. said it was necessary to do so. Candidate for the Unitary Platform to take Venezuela “one step forward.”
“Let's imagine for a moment the country to come,” he told the cheering audience, with a little more energy than the usual calm tone typical of a diplomat. “A country where the president doesn’t insult his opponents or treat them as enemies. When you get home from work, you know your money has value, you turn on the switch and there’s electricity, you turn on the faucet and there’s water. This is a country where you can see what will happen.”
But it didn't match the energy of seasoned politicians like Machado, who virtually crowd-surfed to get on stage Saturday.
President Maduro is seeking a third term in July. His presidential term was marked by a complex crisis that pushed millions into poverty and displaced more than 7.7 million people.
Many of those who gathered in La Victoria on Saturday loudly rejected the president, but the party held another rally in the community on the same day with the opposition coalition.
“I don't need a bag!” some chanted, referring to the bags of food distributed by the government to citizens. “What I want is for Nicholas to leave!”
