Henrique Capriles talks about another “option” for the presidential elections on July 28 in Venezuela

Former governor Henrique Capriles advocated another “option” of majority anti-Chavismo for the candidacy for the presidential elections on July 28given the political disqualification that weighs on the opposition leader María Corina Machado, which prevents her from competing in these and other elections until 2036.

“This is not about a plan B, nor do I think that the correct word is to talk about substitute… I would talk about option,” said Henrique Capriles last Monday, March 11.
Furthermore, Capriles does not believe that the government of Nicolás “Maduro is going to lift a disqualification as a result of pressure.”

In his opinion, “it is not a secret” that Machado is “today the person who would most easily defeat Maduro,” but “the political change” in the Caribbean country “always has to come first.”

He pointed out that, in the primaries on October 22, not only was Machado chosen as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) – the main opposition alliance – but also “a path, which is the electoral path, no other.”

In this sense, Capriles, in an interview with the Venezuelan journalist Vladimir Villegas, expressed that “There has to be political will” and “a lot of unitary commitment.”

The National Electoral Council (CNE) indicated that Machado “presents a prohibition to hold public positions”, a sanction that was ratified in January by the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), which reviewed the sanctions of this type of politicians who requested a evaluation of their cases in a mechanism agreed upon between the Government and the PUD.

However, last Thursday the former liberal representative ruled out the possibility of electing someone to replace her due to the disqualification, which she considers unconstitutional.

According to the established calendar, political organizations must present their candidates between March 21 and 25so anti-Chavismo has less than two weeks to decide how to proceed in this case.

On the part of the ruling party, the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) opened a consultation process in which Maduro was nominated, who, if proclaimed as presidential candidate by the formation, which is expected to be next Friday, will seek a third period of government in power.