16/07/2015
Alex Ojeda Baute is a political consultant. Leader of the party Primero Justicia
On Tuesday July 14, the Comptroller General of the Venezuelan Republic —through a brief one-page document— has notified the leader María Corina Machado that she has been sanctioned with a political disqualification for one year, the most obvious consequence of this measure will be Machado's impossibility to run for the elections of the Venezuelan National Assembly the upcoming December 6.
This was the culmination of a series of authoritarian measures suffered by Machado (most voted MP candidate in the elections of 2010), which have included attacks inside the parliamentary chamber, constant threats and taunts by the most diverse ways, and the express dismissal from her post as MP after her speech to the Organization of American States (OAS), where she explained the magnitude of the Venezuelan crisis of early 2014. Political disqualification, with the breach of parliamentary immunity and the use of security forces, institutions and the media as a way to intimidate the opposition, have become common practices promoted by the government of Nicolás Maduro.
The Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), the main platform of the Venezuelan opposition, has responded vigorously against this decision. They denounced the lack of independence of public authorities, the authorities’ despair before the regime's decline in popularity and before the rise of alternative leaderships, and the need for the government to divert attention from the severe crisis in the Caribbean nation. According to the opposition platform, episodes like this are also trying to demoralize the opposition's electorate. The MUD has reacted to this, inviting citizens to transform anger into a massive vote. Machado has done the same saying that if the regime ‘acts as the dictators they are, they should get ready. We will act as the majority we are.’
The arbitrary act against Machado is a wake-up call before the December elections. This event is expected to draw a new political landscape in Venezuela, with the official forces weakened by the serious crisis plaguing the country. Given this situation, it is likely that the non-democratic nature of the government becomes more acute, increasing the pressure on dissent, creating a disrespectful and opportunistic environment during the campaign and thus having a negative impact on the election day itself. The international community must not look the other way, if indeed this totalitarian drift becomes more acute. Authoritarian strategies should be stopped to avoid them from choking the emerging leaderships and from contravening the majority will of change that exists in Venezuela.