President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) stated this Thursday (28) that it was “serious” that Corina Yoris was unable to register her candidacy for president of Venezuela.
Yoris represents the main opposition group to the current Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, a historic ally of Lula. She was unable to register her candidacy within the stipulated deadline and was therefore prevented from competing (understand below).
The statements were made during a reception ceremony for French President Emmanuel Macron, on his visit to Brazil. The Venezuelan elections, scheduled for July 28, are marked by questions and allegations of persecution against opponents of the current regime.
Lula said he spoke with Nicolás Maduro and said that it would be essential to guarantee the democratic process in the country, because it is “important for Venezuela to return to the world with normality.” However, the PT member stated that he believed that the candidate had been harmed.
“I was surprised by the decision. Firstly, the good decision, from the candidate who was banned from being a candidate by the Court [María Corina Machado]appoint a successor [Corina Yoris]. I thought it was an important step. Now, it is serious that the candidate could not have been registered,” she said.
“She was not banned by the courts. It seems to me that she went to the place and tried to use the computer, the place, and was unable to enter. So it was something that caused harm to a candidate”, he continued.
“The concrete fact is that there is no explanation. There is no legal or political explanation for banning an opponent from being a candidate.”
Alongside Lula, French President Emmanuel Macron said he agreed with the Brazilian’s position, and that he will try to convince Maduro to allow the participation of barred candidates.
Brazil and Venezuela exchange criticism after Maduro blocked yet another opposition candidacy in the country
Unregistered application
After the deadline for registering candidates, the Democratic Unitary Platform coalition, which brings together ten opposition parties, stated that it had been unable to register the name of Corina Yoris.
She had already been chosen because the initial candidate, María Corina Machado, was disqualified by the Venezuelan Supreme Court, aligned with Maduro.
Given this, the opposition must support the name of Manuel Rosales, who managed to register at the last minute in the electoral process.
Tags: Lula opposition candidate barred running elections Venezuela Policy
