DISQUALIFICATION, POLITICS AND ELECTIONS
Augusto Marquez
Mar 26, 2024 , 1:17 pm .

María Corina Machado along with Corina Yoris who would be her replacement. (Photo: @CorreodelCaroni)
In recent months, as the electoral scenario has been taking shape, our eyes have had to witness the most brazen act on record in Venezuelan history. A "political" group, which for years promoted sanctions, invasions, coups d'état, the disastrous "interim" of Guaidó, among other openly illegal resources against the stability of the country, questioned the disqualifications that prevented its main figure from running for elections and run for public office.
This was the case of María Corina Machado, who after having won the opposition primaries considered her candidacy as a presidential candidate assured. Who has based her political career on promoting confrontation and hatred of Chavismo since the beginning, she stood out especially in recent years of tension by openly calling for military operations and economic and diplomatic aggression against Venezuela. So the disqualification processed by the Comptroller General's Office and later confirmed by the TSJ was not a surprise.
However, she looked surprised, genuinely surprised (and of course upset) when she found out that she could not run in the presidential elections scheduled for the middle of this year, following the ruling of the TSJ . What she considered was a sincere attitude on her part toward the information describing several things.
First, his already well-known notion of superiority, a common value among the rich. Heir to the wealthy Caracas elite, Machado perceives herself as above any legal or political order.
Second, his delirious liberal worldview, according to which States must be taken to their minimum expression to allow the extreme exercise of freedom (of the rich), even against the very foundations of the State, no matter how small it may be.
For both reasons, promoting the destruction of the Venezuelan State is in line with its ideological and class principles. For both reasons, the disqualification continues to seem like a surprise that is impossible to digest.
But reality always ends up imposing itself, no matter how much you fight against it. In an imitation of Henry Ramos Allup's iconic phrase, "you have to bend so as not to break," knowing that it was impossible to reverse the disqualification, he decided to raise his hand as a substitute for Corina Yoris, an academic in his close circle who, according to It has been seen on networks, it supported at the time Guaidó's false interim presidency and the destabilization operations against Venezuela, in addition to promoting hatred and persecution against Chavismo.
The elderly lady, who was advertised for her candor, professionalism, academic resume, among other "goodnesses," is a reflection of the classism, intolerance and drive for violence that governs the so-called "civil society." María Corina Machado has once again been surprised (and obviously annoyed) by the impossibility of processing Yoris' candidacy, for which she continues to bet... until the end?
THE STATE MUST STOP A POSSIBLE PROCESS OF NECROSIS
Machado surely thought it was a "brilliant" maneuver to put a puppet lady with the same name as her as a substitute candidate. Her propensity to deny reality perhaps led her to think that, having not held public office, being someone without political experience in parties, her registration with the CNE would become a reality.
But this could hardly be considered a concrete possibility. Supporting sanctions, parallel governments, military interventions, promoting persecution and political hatred, as Corina Yoris and many others from the extremist opposition sector have done, must be definitively exempt from political activity in Venezuela.
No person, whether they have a political or academic career, who actively works to achieve these objectives should participate in electoral processes, as this would imply a humiliation of the existing legality and a demolition, authorized by the State itself against the population, of political and social coexistence. national that the same laws must protect.
It is not legal, but neither is it political, to register as a candidate if your program of action and government consists of having your own country invaded militarily, destroyed by bombs, destroyed by the economy, and imposed an illegitimate government from abroad. This not only implies violating any legal framework, but also the basic meaning of politics itself: oriented to the common good and the preservation of society.
Therefore, the disqualifications and restrictions on this sector, contrary to what its figures think, are a way to maintain coexistence and the realization of healthy elections where they do not see their aspirations realized.
Allowing a person who pursues these goals to run for public office would be akin to authorizing pressing the self-destruct button. Biology has a name for something like that: necrosis. It is the process by which body tissue breaks down, its condition is irreversible and is caused by a shortage of blood flow.
If this were allowed, the analogy is valid, the Venezuelan State (the entity of material and symbolic representation of the nation) would be exposed to a process of necrosis, where its materiality (the laws) and its natural body (the people) would decompose until there is nothing left. The worst thing about the situation is that it would be the State itself that would initiate self-inflicted structural damage.
The State, through disqualifications, is obliged to protect the country, its people, from those who have actively campaigned for their destruction, suffering and loss of quality of life, whether through a frustrated mantuana, an academic lady full of titles or of anyone interested in Venezuela ceasing to exist as we know it.
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BETRAYALS AND DEBACLE IN THE NOMINATION OF OPPOSITION CANDIDATES
Mar 26, 2024 , 3:57 pm .

The evident rupture between the oppositions is deep and transversal. (Photo: @unidadvenezuela)
The process of registering presidential candidates in Venezuela, with a view to the July 28 election, culminated with important news, intrigues and "betrayals" among the ranks of the various oppositions.
Manuel Rosales, leader of the Un Nuevo Tiempo (UNT) party and current governor in the state of Zulia, closed the registration day for opposition candidates, accumulating a long list of 12 figures from various spectrums of anti-Chavismo.
The closing of the process was decided by the controversy surrounding two names: Manuel Rosales and Corina Yoris, also due to various allegations of apparent "problems with the automated application system" that supposedly would have prevented the loading of names by the UNT organizations and the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD).
THE EPHEMERAL CORINA YORIS
Last Friday, March 22, the opposition represented by the factors that make up the PUD evidenced the lack of a replacement strategy for María Corina Machado as electoral standard bearer, given the impossibility of her assuming such a role due to her disqualification from assuming public office.
Machado, who would have won the opposition leadership in dubious primary elections held in October 2023, claimed the power of sole decision-maker over his substitute figure.
The leader had maintained a narrative for months in which she criticized any accusation about a possible replacement in her name and managed to condition the messages among the opponents themselves, carrying the diatribe until the day of the nominations.
Henrique Capriles, leader of the Primero Justicia (PJ) party, had pointed out on several occasions the need to discuss methods of appointing other "options" to Machado, either among figures participating in the primaries or who had not participated in them, but his demand It was rejected by Machado and his acolytes.
The lack of strategy resulted in Machado's discretion to exercise the "power of the finger" and appoint her replacement , thus appointing Corina Yoris, an 80-year-old university professor who was part of the National Primary Commission. The name Yoris arose due to Machado's trust, but it was also a political marketing strategy. Furthermore, Yoris had already been accused, along with Teresa Albanes and Jesús María Casal, of "hijacking" the primary elections in favor of Machado.
According to spokespeople from the PUD and María Corina Machado herself, the PUD and UNT were prevented from making their applications digitally, but there is no conclusive evidence of this. Both parties were supposed to register Corina Yoris, but this did not happen as the nomination process closed late into the night on Monday, March 25.
Corina Yoris's nomination was already marked by controversy, as she was considered an "alter ego" of María Corina Machado. For this it is necessary to review the rules of the game.
The electoral governing body, the National Electoral Council (CNE), advanced the date on which the phase of admission or rejection of applications should be carried out.
"Although the website publication indicates that the admission or rejection of applications will be from March 28 to April 1, the instructions given to the parties indicate that admission will be decided between March 21 and 25," wrote the opposition journalist expert in electoral issues Eugenio Martínez.
According to Martínez, simultaneously with the application process, there was a process of reviewing the applications and, although Yoris did not manage to be nominated (for reasons that are not yet clear), it is a fact that her name was under discussion for being a figure "delegate."
The application process for presidential candidates is governed in accordance with the provisions of the Organic Law of Electoral Processes (LOPRE) and its General Regulations.
In accordance with Article 61 of the LOPRE, the CNE is empowered to rule on "the admission or rejection of the application." The evaluation that the CNE carries out of the applications includes the review of the government proposal of the candidates, in addition to the eligibility conditions provided for in the Constitution and electoral laws.
The General Regulations of the LOPRE in its Article 120 establish that "the non-compliance with any of the eligibility conditions required by the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Laws". Of course, this article states that a disqualified person cannot participate, but not necessarily any person who is qualified can do so.
In the case of Corina Yoris, her announcement as a candidate was made under the supervision of María Corina Machado. It was a candidacy proposal without its own government project. She did not represent any of her own parties, nor has she been a leading factor. That is to say, it was a candidacy proposal "by delegation", or "alter ego".
It is very likely that in a review process of Corina Yoris's application, it would not have been validated by the CNE, given that it was a public, well-known and communicational fact that this person did not have a minimum of autonomy to assume the position and, Consequently, trying to assume it so that another person can do it de facto (Machado) would be a type of farce, false electoral offer or electoral fraud.
Yoris' candidacy suggested creating conditions to violate Article 139 of the Constitution, which states that the exercise of Public Power "carries individual responsibility."
Article 225 of the constitutional text states that the Executive Power "is exercised" by the President of the Republic. For its part, Article 226 of the Magna Carta states that it is "the head of State who directs the action of government" and, additionally, Article 232 indicates that the President is responsible for his or her actions and the obligations of his post.
Corina Yoris's promise to be a candidate to assume office "in the name of" Machado and in order to initiate a "transition" is covered in illegality, since it openly implied the intention of establishing a de facto transfer of power to a particular person. The functions of a position are non-transferable.
THE DIFFICULT APPLICATION PROCESS AND THE INTERNAL OPPOSITION CONFLICT
This Tuesday, March 26, leader María Corina Machado declared in a presentation to the press that the nomination of Manuel Rosales as a candidate was a "betrayal" of the PUD and the "mandate" of the October 2023 primaries.
During these statements, Machado was asked if he would support Manuel Rosales, to which he stressed that his only candidate was Corina Yoris. Again and without disparaging the viability of this, she declared that they would fight until she was registered as a candidate.
Until the early hours of Tuesday the 25th, it was estimated that the PUD and its "unitary" card would not have Yoris' candidacy, nor would it participate in the election, while the UNT card would have Rosales' name as a candidate.
The wounds and open divisions among the opposition factors reached a new zenith, in surely irreparable ways, due to the controversy over the registration of candidacies, which occurred in the meantime of closed meetings between the leaders of the parties that make up life. in the PUD.
As a relevant point of the debate, it appears that the "technical impossibility" of registration by the PUD and UNT would have been a mechanism of the CNE to condition the application process.
But this element is weak, given that the only "proof" of this is a live video released by the PUD where a person tries to log into what appears to be the automated application system. But in the images you cannot see the domain of the website. This would have taken place late at night on Monday the 25th. However, on March 22, journalist Eugenio Martinez commented that the CNE had established time blocks for political organizations to carry out their application processes.
This suggests that the PUD had fallen out of time with its time block. Additionally, there were no reports on in-person activity by PUD actors to try to carry out the process through administrative means in the CNE.
Probably the dilatory processes would be in the backstage and debates that took place within the PUD among the political actors, especially in a context of intransigence on the part of María Corina Machado in not giving up on the proposal of her alter ego Corina Yoris.
BETRAYALS AND INTRIGUES
Journalist Carla Angola, a member of María Corina Machado's communications ring, declared from her account on Platform X that the UNT emissaries "deceived the 9 parties of the Unitary Platform."
Angola said that every time the rumor was mentioned that Rosales was already going to register, UNT representatives assured them: "How do you think that can be true if we are here with you?"
"They deceived them all. The system was closed for the MUD, but not for UNT," Angola stressed.
But there are more contradictions between opposition actors on the issue of "the system." UNT would have registered Rosales early in the afternoon of Monday the 25th, while they publicly pretended that they did not have access.
Nícmer Evans, an opponent who is also head of the Punto de Corte media outlet, indicated that "according to his sources" UNT tirelessly pushed for Rosales' nomination by consensus, trying to gain the support of a large part of the PUD, but they would have met with absolute intransigence of Machado, who even left a meeting claiming that he would not accept names other than Corina Yoris.
UNT would have made "a theater that they could not register," while they continued "insisting on a consensus candidacy with Rosales' name," Evans published .
The UNT emissaries had gone to the CNE to obtain the nomination of Rosales through administrative means, but also, knowing that there would not be an agreement in the PUD, of which they are also a part, they would have obtained the nomination of someone else (his name was not has been revealed before this writing) in order to "safeguard space" for a later replacement and to be able to use the PUD card in the election.
According to Evans, Rosales will seek to gain more support in the PUD to have the endorsement of putting his name on that card in the coming days, but the public commotion that this issue has generated makes that possibility very difficult.
According to Orlando Avendaño, accused of being part of the entourage of "journalists" at the service of Machado, in addition to UNT, the leaders Henry Ramos Allup, Henrique Capriles, Juan Pablo Guanipa and the Fuerza Vecinal party (FV) would have participated in this arrangement; The latter appeared on the night of Monday the 25th before the CNE to support Rosales' candidacy.
"UNTIL THE END"
In just three days, a year of political work by the PUD and other actors outside it, like María Corina Machado herself, collapsed.
But this maximum crisis was foreseeable, firstly because of Machado's personalism, because of his immovables, his express prohibition of seeking substitutes, his strategies based on maximum premises, for unilaterally imposing a "delegated" candidacy and his determined interest in controlling the opposition.
Despite Machado's obvious and visceral rejection of Rosales, she insisted that she will remain "on the electoral route" pushing for the registration of Corina Yoris, but there are no clear elements of how she will be able to make it possible in these instances.
Machado knows that significant public attention weighs on her. He does not want to lose his timming of her by openly taking the side of abstention, but the evident rupture between the oppositions is deep and transversal.
For Machado, "all" of the candidates are "Maduro's" candidates, while Rosales declared that he had run "to fill a space and to give Venezuelans the opportunity to participate in the election."
In total, we know the names of 12 opposition leaders who will go to elections against a single candidate registered by the Chavista parties: Nicolás Maduro.
https://misionverdad.com/venezuela/trai ... opositoras
NICOLÁS MADURO: FIVE STRATEGIC REASONS THAT SUPPORT HIS CANDIDACY
Mar 26, 2024 , 11:30 am .

The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, registered as a presidential candidate of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), in a public event on March 25 (Photo: Presidential Press)
During his second term as president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro has achieved fundamental milestones to overcome the crises generated by the extremist opposition and the United States, directing the country towards a horizon of political, economic and social stability. These achievements have strengthened his leadership within Chavismo and have positioned him as the natural candidate to represent the Bolivarian Revolution in the presidential electoral process on July 28 of this year.
Below, we present five milestones, five strategic achievements, that have made it the only political and electoral option for Chavismo.
OVERCOMING HYPERINFLATION
Economic, financial and trade sanctions are instruments of pressure widely used by the United States to influence non-aligned governments and force changes, mostly outside of illegality, in their internal administration or political system.

President Nicolás Maduro at the National Council of Productive Economy (Photo: Presidential Press)
In the case of Venezuela, although the political effectiveness of these measures in terms of their objectives is questionable, their impact on the national economy is undeniable. This policy has been predominant in the US government since the decree was issued in 2015 that describes Venezuela as an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to its national security, reaching its peak with the strategy of "maximum pressure" from Donald Trump's administration in 2017. These shocks have hindered economic growth and restricted the flow of goods and capital in the country, generating structural failures that, through media campaigns, are attributed to alleged mismanagement and inefficiency. of the government.
In total, 930 unilateral coercive measures have been applied , more than half directed against the Venezuelan State, especially against its main economic engine, Petróleos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA). The highest inflation peaks in Venezuela were recorded between 2018 and 2019, coinciding with the most aggressive measures by the United States against the country.
In this context, during the second term of President Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela has been implementing a plan that has managed to reverse the hyperinflation process. In this last stage of the government cycle, positive and clear results are evident. Currently, the inflation rate in Venezuela is the lowest in the last 12 years, with a reduction of 1.2% in February compared to January and an annual inflation of 75%, still high but far from the levels observed. in recent years.
The economic policies implemented by the Venezuelan government are diverse and respond to multifactorial aggression. These actions range from those carried out by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) to control the exchange rate, to policies aimed at strengthening tax collection and combating corruption to protect national income from plunder and looting.
The eradication of hyperinflation in Venezuela represents a significant milestone achieved by President Maduro, which is also the starting point for his second achievement.
CREATE THE BASIS OF A NEW PRODUCTIVE ECONOMIC MODEL
President Nicolás Maduro has proposed the construction of his own and diversified economic model, of which, in the first instance due to its impact on the recovery of social well-being, we must highlight the promotion of agri-food production , bringing the country closer to self-sufficiency in many areas. items of the basic Venezuelan diet. This increase is reflected in the availability of products consumed by Venezuelan families in supermarkets and markets, both domestically produced and imported.

President Maduro together with investors and businessmen from the metallurgical sector (Photo: @NicolasMaduro)
In addition, the industrial sector has experienced a significant rebound in 2023 , with growth of 3.93% in the third quarter of last year, while in the same period commercial activity grew by 3.49%. The government has established the National Council of Productive Economy to design economic strategies at the national level, encouraging collaboration between public and private companies.
The diversification of the Venezuelan economy does not imply the abandonment of the oil sector. The government understands how crucial this industry is to Venezuela's economic income, which is why its economic recovery approach has been reflected in recent data showing that in 2023 the country experienced a significant 12.3% increase. in crude oil exports, generating income for a total of 6.23 billion dollars, which underpins organic economic growth supported by diversification and the creation of real wealth.
Despite the challenge imposed by the US blockade and sanctions, which continue despite specific and temporary licenses, Venezuela's economic recovery continues its course and the economy continues its growth driven by the government strategy. The year 2023 closed with a GDP growth of more than 5%, one of the most significant, comparatively speaking, in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
STRENGTHENING RELATIONS WITH CHINA, RUSSIA AND INDIA
Significant transformations are underway in Eurasia in the political and financial spheres, with concrete initiatives aimed at challenging the hegemony of the US dollar and thus ending blackmail and coercion. BRICS+ countries such as Russia, China and India are playing a crucial role in creating a new financial structure independent of Western control.

Meeting between Presidents Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and Xi Jinping of China (Photo: Xinhua / Ding Lin (EFE))
During his second term, President Maduro has strengthened his position as a member nation of this growing multipolar dynamic in Eurasia. During this presidential period, he has made two official visits to China, traveled to Russia and received his Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, on several occasions. In addition, he has carried out international tours to Eurasian and West Asian countries. The vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, has also made official visits to India. Venezuela has participated in the Saint Petersburg Economic Forum, in the Eurasian Economic Union, and President Maduro intervened in the country's first participation in the XV BRICS+ Summit.
These approaches have led to bilateral agreements that promote advances in key sectors for Venezuela, such as energy, agriculture, technology, industry, trade, finance and tourism. With its potential, especially in the energy field, Venezuela also makes important contributions to these countries that are building new platforms for diplomatic-economic relations.
In this context, it is essential to highlight the importance of the request made by President Nicolás Maduro to the BRICS+ countries for Venezuela to be admitted to this group , a request that has been taken into consideration. The president has not allowed the country to remain static in the face of changes in the global panorama, but is committed to its integration into a multipolar world, based on respect for sovereignty, self-determination and external non-interference.
MAINTENANCE OF THE UNITY OF CHAVISMO
Chavismo has managed to establish itself as a bastion of resistance against internal and external political attacks, through which it has attempted to destabilize the country and undermine its foundations. Unity has been key to standing firm in the face of these adversities, strengthening popular participation and social cohesion in times of crisis and demonstrating collective learning in the face of a clearly identified enemy.

President Nicolás Maduro candidate of the Great Patriotic Pole. (Photo: @NicolasMaduro)
The political serenity and capacity for adaptation that President Maduro has been able to forge in the foundations of Chavismo during more than a decade of unconventional war that has been waged against Venezuela have become essential on this path of adversity, but these qualities are also essential for the political, economic and social transformations sought for the country.
At this crucial moment in the history of Chavismo, the ability to reinvent itself and adapt to new times will be decisive for its relevance in the future. Therefore, it is essential that the Venezuelan head of state continues to exercise his leadership in order to maintain solidity within the Chavismo bloc and achieve these stated objectives.
INSTITUTIONAL PEACE AND POLITICAL NORMALIZATION
If on the one hand, under the mandate of Nicolás Maduro the cohesion of Chavismo has been preserved, it is even more relevant that his government has been a guarantee of the institutional peace and political normalization that the country enjoys today.
Economic wars, threats of invasion, assassination attempts, coup d'état plans, promotion of color revolutions, fabrication of false governments and institutions; All of these resources used covertly in the last decade have been effectively dismantled by the Venezuelan government in order to protect peace and national stability.

Perfect Civic - Military - Police Union (Photo: Presidential Press)
President Maduro's insistence on this direction has been such that he has even achieved a change of focus in sectors of the opposition, which currently dissent from extremism and choose a position contrary to the government through political participation, dialogue and negotiation. With this, the capacity to act of the extremist opposition aligned with Washington, fundamentally responsible for the application of sanctions and the various regime change operations in the last decade, has been reduced.
This has had a correlation in the strategic defense of sovereignty, as was demonstrated at the end of last year with the escalation of the conflict with Guyana, fueled by the ExxonMobil company. As a result of this, the head of state proposed actions to defend Guayana Esequiba , through a consultative referendum in early December, which exemplified his commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Bolivarian Republic.
Defending what has been achieved so far involves recognizing the leadership that has made it possible, that of Nicolás Maduro. July 28 is about that.
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