Venezuelan presidential election | Red tide for Maduro, white wave for the opposition

(Caracas) A red tide with thousands of people, flags, photos of former president Hugo Chavez and current president Nicolas Maduro… the electoral campaign for the presidential election of July 28 in Venezuela officially began Thursday with a show of force by the government but also a strong mobilization of the opposition.

With less than a month to go until the election, uncertainties abound. On the streets, the same questions come up: Will the elections take place? Will Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the opposition’s impromptu candidate, be on the screens of the voting machines? Can Mr. Maduro mobilize at the ballot box?

Arrests, harassment of traders working with the opposition, ineligibility: the campaign also begins with an opposition that accuses the government of “persecuting” it while the government continues to accuse it of “plots” and “terrorist acts”.

Most polls show the opposition leading the voting intentions.

“We are winning and we are winning well, but we cannot rest on our laurels. Prepare for the beating we are going to give them!” Mr Maduro told his supporters on Thursday, near the presidential palace in central Caracas.

Does Nicolas Maduro, who is seeking a third term after succeeding his mentor Hugo Chavez (1999-2013), sense the danger or possibility of defeat? In recent weeks, he has intensified his program, also crisscrossing the country while making countless television appearances.

On Thursday, thousands of his supporters took to the streets in Caracas to the sound of his campaign song “Gallo pinto” (fighting cock), the nickname he gave himself a few weeks ago.

Unprecedented crisis

He promises an economic recovery, after an unprecedented crisis that has seen GDP contract by 80% in ten years. Seven of the 30 million Venezuelans have left the country, according to the United Nations.

“For every sanction, a solution. For every aggression, more revolution! Today, a new miraculous and blessed era begins, and we will know the Venezuela of prosperity and well-being!” he shouted.

Dancing on stage with a group of musicians, Mr. Maduro closed the rally by miming a boxing match in which he would knock out his imaginary opponent.

“We will win a resounding victory […] “What we see gives me chills,” says Juan Molina, a 46-year-old biker. “We know who the enemies of the homeland are: the opposition… If they oppose us, we will fight them. By force with justice if necessary,” he fumes.

The government also organized demonstrations in 70 cities, the number of years Hugo Chavez would have been this year.

The opposition also saw the big picture, with the launch in Caracas of a caravan that is to crisscross the whole of Venezuela in the coming days, with opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the head of the procession, greeted by thousands of supporters, many of them in white.

Winner of the primary but declared ineligible by the government, she has already traveled the entire country by car, because the authorities forbid her from taking the plane. In each city, M^me Machado is greeted like a true “rock star”, with crowds of admirers flocking to hear her promises of change.

She is now campaigning for Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, 74, a former ambassador and low-profile figure who agreed to replace her at short notice.

“This force cannot be stopped. It is much more than an electoral campaign, it is a deep feeling for the freedom of Venezuela,” said Mr.^me Machado to the press.

“I came because I wanted to, no one forced me,” says Raiza Ramirez, 52, a nurse who came with five of her colleagues. “I am here because I feel that we are now free, Venezuela has ended the dictatorship.”

“‘Edmundo for everyone’ (one of the opposition slogans), especially for the nurses’ union that fights for our salaries, for our hospitals, for our patients,” adds Mr.^me Ramirez.

“Today begins the rebirth of hope and the path of change for Venezuela,” said Gonzalez, wearing the soccer jersey of the national soccer team that just qualified for the quarterfinals of the Copa America.

Atypical campaign

But “it is one thing to win the electoral process and another to be recognized” as the winner, warns Guillermo Tell Aveledo, professor at the Metropolitana University.

“This is an atypical campaign, focused more on perceptions and perspectives of the country than on concrete programs,” he emphasizes.

Mr Maduro is seeking to lift sanctions and normalise Venezuela’s international relations after parts of the international community refused to recognise his 2018 victory in a vote boycotted by the opposition.