María Corina Machado, the main leader of the Venezuelan opposition and winner of the primaries, disassociated herself this Tuesday from Manuel Rosales' last-minute candidacy in the upcoming presidential 'elections' on July 28. Machado claimed that the "true opposition" has experienced betrayals. However, she did not hesitate to claim that these actions are accelerating a transition in Venezuela.
"What we warned about for many months ended up happening: the regime chose its candidates. My candidate is Corina Yoris (...) The regime took off its mask and revealed itself with its accomplices to close this electoral route," said Machado. Given the dictatorship's refusal to allow her participation in the electoral process, Machado appointed Corina Yoris to replace her in the elections. However, the opposition illegally blocked her from registering her candidacy.
Rosales' party, Un Nuevo Tiempo (UNT), endorsed Yoris' candidacy but ended up submitting his registration last minute. Machado claimed that the nearly 3 million Venezuelans who voted in the primaries do not agree with Rosales' decision. For this reason, she pointed out, she will continue fighting for truly democratic elections to be held in Venezuela.
"These are very difficult times, there is a lot of anger and frustration, many feel that they were mocked and this must be assumed, not minimized. This is the only way to turn betrayals into lessons," Machado said.
She also asked the international community to keep an eye on Venezuela. She emphasized that "the objective was to break me and that we should not stand up today to tell this to the country, and here we are."
Venezuelans tell me: 'Don't give in.' And here we are, we did not give in. Here nobody surrenders until freedom is achieved. If Venezuelans cannot vote abroad, if the regime chooses the candidates, are these really elections? These are the questions the international community needs to ask if we want free and fair elections, especially those that signed the Barbados Agreement. The people do not want shenanigans or arrangements behind the country's back.
Machado warned that she has recently been threatened. "In Venezuela, everyone feels that their lives are at risk, but this is the moment in which I have felt the greatest pressure and the greatest threat," she said.
