Nicolas Maduro buckles and emits signals that appear to jeopardize the holding of the 2024 presidential election agreed with the opposition and the international community. The first indication was the disqualification of the nominations of María Corina Machado and Henrique Capriles. The other two parts happened at roughly the same time. The president reorganized the high command and approved a “tough” among the hardliners in the Ministry of Defense, Chief Vladimir Padrino López. At the same time, Jorge Rodríguez, the main official of the National Assembly (AN, Parliament), announced: Venezuelan will not allow the presence of the European Union Observation Mission in the elections incoming.
“We don’t have time to consider their request for us to come. I’m telling you directly Josep Borrell, as long as we are the representative of the Venezuelan State, you are not coming. No mission from Europe will come here,” he said.
Rodríguez is a psychiatrist and knows what words to say in public when needed. His intervention came in response to a statement by the European Parliament for disqualifications, but it also seems to herald a tightening of relations with the opposition. The reference to the high representative of the EU Foreign Affairs Union added even more harshness to the response from Caracas. “Elections in Venezuela are held by Venezuelans. No European observation mission will enter here, the colonialists will not return as representatives of that imperial, murderous slave-owning bastion of Europe.”
Orders given to Maduro
The EU delegation had formulated in its report the measures that tend to separate the Public Powers to prevent the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) from interfering in election decisions, which is clearly aligned with the Miraflores Palace, on the balance of observation on the 2021 elections. The National Electoral Council (CNE), whose leadership must be renewed after a wave of resignations from pro-government members. The EU also wanted suspension of disqualification in order to remain in elective positions, and the release of political prisoners, as minimum guarantees for the celebration of contention. This report was sent remotely. The commission was not allowed to enter the country.
“They sent envoys to ask us to allow election observation for the presidential elections, and we are officially responding to that. We don’t have time to respond to this request.added Rodríguez. In turn, he suggested that Member of the European Parliament Leopoldo López Gil, father of Leopoldo López, the leader of the now-exile right-wing Voluntad Popular, was the author of the Eurochamber resolution.
Rodríguez’s response came at a time when the CNE needed to be reorganized and the opposition was moving towards a primary election that would decide on a joint presidential candidacy. Machado is leading the choices for the first polls.