The Venezuelan opposition presents 10 candidates to confront Nicolas Maduro in 2024

aThe primaries will be held in Venezuela and 32 other countries, including Portugal, which will have electoral tables in the cities of Funchal, Lisbon and Porto, without technical support from the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE).

Ten candidates have been confirmed to participate, including industrial engineer Maria Corina Machado, founder of the Vinte Venezuela political party, who is considered one of the most likely candidates, but has been excluded from holding public office, a situation that she says does not constitute an obstacle to running. Against Nicholas Mature.

Machado defines himself as a liberal and proposes opening markets, privatizing companies and providing opportunities for investors in various sectors, as well as turning “Venezuela into the energy ‘hub’ of the Americas.”

Also among the candidates is independent Portuguese Venezuelan judge Gloria Pinho, who says she does not feel represented by any Venezuelan party or politician, and her goal is to make Venezuela a first-world country.

The group of candidates also includes lawyer and human rights activist Tamara Adrian, who in 2015 became the first transgender woman to be elected as an MP, and who wants to see the LGBTQ+ community respected and has the support of the United for Dignity movement.

Candidate Cesar Pérez Vivas, of the Concertación Ciudadana party, wants to abolish successive presidential elections, reduce the term of the President of the Republic from six to five years, control public spending, privatize some state companies, and provide decent salaries to workers.

With the support of the Popular Political Unity Party 89 (UPP89), businessman Cesar Almeida proposes to develop Venezuela’s infrastructure and the country’s economy, especially in areas such as tourism, trade, industrial and agricultural sectors, as well as state-owned enterprises.

He promises to return confiscated companies and move forward with a national program to support the production of corn, rice, sugarcane, etc., to ensure domestic supplies.

Andres Calica, an economist, university professor and former president of the National Electoral Council, sets the goal of restoring Venezuelans’ confidence in the Venezuelan electoral system, insisting that it is necessary to overcome abstention because it “only benefits Chavismo,” the successor regime. Hugo Chavez, who considers Maduro his main champion.

Andres Velázquez, former governor of Bolivar state and former presidential candidate for the Cosa R party, says that if he wins he will govern for a “dignified Venezuela” and promises to create an oil revenue fund for pensions, as well as encourage investment. By enhancing legal certainty and clarifying economic regulation.

Lawyer Delsa Solorzano has promised that her first decree will be the release of political prisoners, and wants a “transition to democracy” in the country, as well as life chances for Venezuelans.

Luis Palo Farias, an independent vet, wants to change the country’s legal, political and social structures, while Carlos Prosperi, of the Democratic Action Party, advocates general elections in the third year of the presidential term, the release of political prisoners, and the eventual release of political prisoners. Lawsuits against political parties and separation of powers in the country.

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