Venezuela barred opposition leader María Corina Machado from running in upcoming elections, causing more tension in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential vote.
Machado’s ban, like those slapped on other leading opposition figures including former governor and twice presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, on the face of it seeks to keep her out of next year’s race. In practice, however, she and other candidates are ignoring the bans and hoping the government has to reverse them eventually.
The announcement comes just two weeks after the government began a controversial restructuring process of the electoral body, prompting the opposition to plan primaries without its support. The move to render Machado ineligible appears to be an attempt to discourage opposition voters.
Machado called the ban useless in remarks delivered earlier Friday at a rally in the late Hugo Chavez’s hometown of Barinas.
“It only shows one thing: They know they’re defeated,” Machado said. “I’d tell the regime, ‘despair is a very bad adviser,’ and it seems they’re very desperate because they only make mistake after mistake.”
The government announced the ban in a letter from the comptroller’s office to lawmaker José Brito, who had requested the information on Machado’s status Monday. She is to be barred from holding public office for 15 years retroactive from 2015, said the letter, dated June 27 but disclosed Friday.
According to the comptroller’s office, Machado made errors and omissions in her asset disclosures, and failed to justify roughly half of the funds she administered. The government also said she was linked to several “corruption plots” headed by former interim President Juan Guaidó. They also accused her of complicity in the economic blockade and sanctions over Venezuela.
“It is clear that no administrative authority should take away political rights from any citizen,” said Colombia’s President and Maduro ally, Gustavo Petro, in a tweet following the announcement.
Recent polls show Machado’s popularity has been on the rise and she is currently leading 14 candidates vying to challenge President Nicolás Maduro in the 2024 election. The latest survey by Caracas-based firm ORC Consultores showed her with 46.4% of voter intention in May, up from 35.4% in November.
“This may be a desperate attempt to curb the support Machado is receiving from people on her way to the primaries,” said Oswaldo Ramirez Colina, head of ORC Consultores. According to recent studies by his firm, eight of 10 primary voters don’t care that their candidate is ineligible, “they would still vote for him or her.”
Capriles, one of Machado’s main contenders, said Machado’s ban was illegitimate, unjustified and unconstitutional.
