This coming July 28, 2024 will be the presidential elections. My hopes have been trampled, dictatorships do not end with votes. It is a government that pretends to hold elections, makes naive citizens believe that Venezuela is still a democratic country, but it is not like that, since 2002 democracy and freedom have ended. People get excited, they exercise their right to vote and in the end the results are what they want, everything is already manipulated. As for the opposition political leaders, they are also a hoax, it is just a business, a farce where the only beneficiaries are them, they are accomplices in this Machiavellian game, where the people affected are the common citizen.

I still remember, how the streets were filled with political propaganda, catchy songs, the joy in the streets, hope emanated in the air, unbreakable faith, it is the last thing that is lost, that's what they say, people going to vote very early , standing in huge lines, traveling from one state to another where it was their turn to vote, calling friends and family with great enthusiasm "Have you gone to vote yet? Don't forget to go, this is our year", waiting until dawn with the heart beating very strongly, the hands sweaty with nerves, some with a restless leg, moving their foot up and down, waiting for the desired results, all the homes with the televisions on tuning in to the news, finally the voice speaks. the late Tibisay Lucena, former president of the national electoral council, and mentions the most painful words, the hustle and bustle in the city is cancelled, a dead silence embraces the communities, anxiety disappears, only a calm remains with much pain and tears. Some with great regret put their houses up for sale, the homes that they had managed to have with so much effort, cars and other belongings are liquidated, to go into exile and seek the tranquility and opportunities that the left outraged us with. That is the reality of many Venezuelans.

I was a girl when Chavez came to power, I was even a minor when he died and Nicolás Maduro took office. I came of age and with great enthusiasm I wanted to register in the CNE (national electoral council for its acronym in Spanish) to finally exercise my vote, I stood in line from 8am to approximately 3pm, there were approximately 1000 people wanting to register , I waited patiently and with great enthusiasm, we all really felt that way, they treated us in a degrading way, they did not open the offices until almost noon, when in reality their entry time was at 8am, we did not care about that and we continued waiting, I managed " register" and I'll tell you why I use quotes, I was happy that I could finally cast my vote in the next elections, until the day arrived and it was like a bucket of cold water was poured on me, when I realized that I could NOT vote, no The registration appeared, a friend called me desperately asking if it appeared in the system, I told her no, and to our surprise none of the 1,000 people who had registered that time appeared registered. How many other people did they do that to? Until today I have not been able to vote. They did such blatant sabotage to us, now imagine how they manipulate everything else.

They are experts in sabotage and they care less and less about being as brazen as, for example, in this electoral campaign: official candidate of the PSUV Nicolas Maduro of course, opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado, until the supreme court of justice decided to disqualify her.

CNN information: “The citizen MARÍA CORINA MACHADO PARISCA is DISABLED from exercising public functions for a period of fifteen (15) years, according to Resolution number 01-00-000285, dated September 16, 2021, issued by the COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC,” the court reported.

The disqualification mentioned in the court ruling refers to a measure imposed by the Comptroller General of Venezuela against Machado for allegedly not including the payment of food bonuses in his sworn declaration of assets. The opposition leader insists that the disqualification is illegal.

The decision comes amid growing accusations by the Public Ministry against activists and opponents, whom it accuses of being behind an alleged conspiracy to commit an assassination against President Nicolás Maduro.

CNN has reached out to Machado's team for comment on this matter and is awaiting a response.

On December 15, Machado went to the Supreme Court of Justice to present an appeal against the political disqualification that prevents him from running and holding public office.

Upon leaving the court at that time, Machado stated that he will do “everything that has to be done” to stay on the electoral path. “We are going to go to the end. The ball is now in the regime's court, now it is their turn to comply,” he told the media.

Later that same day, in a press conference, Machado said: "What I have ratified today, once again, is that there is no disqualification. Furthermore, the people enabled me and that is what is confirmed, ratified in the document we introduced". He also explained that the document presented "is a lawsuit for a claim through factual means. That means that there is a public fact, but there is no act. There is no act. And that is what we are verifying today with this action."

The lawyer representing Machado, Perkins Rocha, reported through the social network Once, he was denied access to the file to examine it. A situation that the jurist considered put his client in “a dangerous situation of defenselessness” by preventing her from knowing about the procedure.

On Tuesday, January 23, the Vente Venezuela political movement, coordinated by Machado, denounced the arrest of three members of that force in less than a week. Perkins Rocha, who is also the organization's lawyer, assured that Juan Freites, director of the campaign command in the state of La Guaira, and Luis Camacaro, in the same position in the state of Yaracuy, were detained. On January 17, the Public Ministry had confirmed the arrest of Víctor Venegas, who served as political secretary of Vente Venezuela in the state of Barinas, for his alleged participation in a conspiracy and his connection with “the development of activities against the peace of the Republic”, and who, prior to his arrest, assured that he had not done anything wrong. CNN contacted the Public Ministry to request information about reports of recent arrests, but so far we have not received a response. However, the Attorney General of Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, assured that judicial arrests are being carried out of those who he pointed out as accomplices of five conspiracies that have been reported in recent days and about which no evidence has been presented. He did not specify the names of the detained people but did assure that those arrested would be investigated "for attacking the Venezuelan State and imploding citizen peace."

Mundo Editorial (June 28, 2024): "Nicolás Maduro, who has been in power since the death of Hugo Chávez in 2013, intends to seek his second re-election after starting his second term in 2019 after winning the 2018 elections, in elections not recognized at the time by the OAS and approximately 51 countries. By 2024, Maduro received the endorsement of approximately 13 political movements, so his face will appear 13 times on the card. In contrast, the main opposition movement, the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), has traveled a path full of. obstacles to registering a candidate after the disqualification of María Corina Machado, winner of the opposition primaries, and the failure to register Corina Yoris, the first person elected to succeed her.

Finally, the opposition united around Edmundo González, a 74-year-old diplomat who received the support of the 21 opposition movements that make up the PUD coalition. González Urrutia, a 74-year-old diplomat and academic, earned the trust of Machado to confront Maduro and other opposition figures, such as the governor of the state of Zulia (west), Manuel Rosales, who resigned his candidacy to strengthen the unity in the opposition. These displays of support have been very positive for González's campaign, unknown until this year, due to the limited time they have to make his face known among voters.

According to the firm ORC Consultores, the opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia leads the official candidate, President Nicolás Maduro, by a margin of up to 40 points, according to a survey conducted between May 16 and 24. The polls indicate that Maduro and González will be the ones contesting the election, which will be observed by the Carter Center from the United States."

chronology of the multiple votes carried out since Chávez won the presidency:

1998

Presidential election

Chávez won with 56 percent of the vote compared to 40 percent for Henrique Salas Romer, his closest challenger. He took office on February 2, 1999, swearing on the "moribund" 1961 Constitution.

1999

April constituent referendum

Around 90 percent of voters decided to call a Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution. Abstention reached 62 percent.

December constituent referendum

72 percent of voters approved the new Constitution, which began the so-called "Bolivarian Revolution."

The new Constitution determined the unicamerality of Congress - today the National Assembly -, reorganized public powers, increased the presidential term from five to six years, established the possibility of immediate re-election for one period, gave the right to vote to active military personnel and, among others, , changed the name of the country to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

2000

Presidential election

Chávez obtained 60 percent of the votes compared to 37.5 percent of his main challenger, Francisco Arias, for the mandate that began in 2001. This event is known as the "mega-elections" since they were called to legitimize popularly elected positions after approving the new Magna Carta, including governors and mayors.

2004

Regional elections

The ruling party won 22 of the 24 states and more than 80 percent of the mayoralties. The opposition weakened, losing six of the eight governorships it controlled and the vast majority of the 220 mayoralties it had held since 2000.

Referendum on remaining in power

In August, 59 percent of nearly 10 million voters decided that Chávez should remain in power in a referendum activated by the opposition to revoke his mandate.

The opposition remembers the plebiscite as a "revocation referendum" and Chávez's followers call it a "ratification referendum", in a clear example of the political polarization in Venezuela.

2005

Legislative elections

The 165 seats in the Assembly were won by the ruling Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) - the group from which the PSUV was born - or parties sympathetic to Chávez, after the opposition withdrew from the race alleging lack of confidence in the electoral referee. . Abstention was 75 percent.

2006

Presidential election

In early December, Chávez was re-elected with 62 percent of the vote to opposition candidate Manuel Rosales' 37 percent, promising to lead Venezuela toward "21st Century Socialism."

2007

Referendum on constitutional reform

Chávez suffered his first electoral defeat after years of overwhelming victories when his proposal to reform the Constitution and deepen his socialist project was rejected by a very narrow margin.

2008

Regional elections

They were held at the end of November to elect 603 positions among governors, mayors and councilors. Although the opposition won emblematic states and mayoralties, the ruling PSUV managed to once again win the majority of the positions at stake.

2009

Referendum on constitutional amendment

At the end of 2008, Chávez proposed a referendum to eliminate the limits on re-election of public offices established in the 1999 Constitution. The vote was held in February 2009 and the "Yes" won with almost 55 percent of the votes. votes.

2010

Parliamentary election

In September, the members of the National Assembly (AN) were elected until 2016. The ruling party won the majority of seats. However, the opposition celebrated that the popular vote was very close and that Chávez's party did not reach the two-thirds of the seats required to approve major reforms.

2012

Presidential election

On October 7, Chávez was re-elected with 55.07 percent of the votes - or 8.1 million votes - in a contest where he faced opponent Henrique Capriles, who achieved 44.31 percent.

Although the president won a comfortable victory, the opposition achieved its best result in more than a decade by reaching 6.5 million votes.

Regional elections

In December, the PSUV swept 20 of the 23 governorships at stake, despite the absence of President Chávez, who at that time was convalescing in Cuba. The governor of the central state of Miranda, Henrique Capriles, achieved re-election.

2013

Extraordinary presidential election in April 2013 due to the death in March of President Hugo Chávez.  Nicolás Maduro was elected with 50.56% of the votes against his opposition challenger Henrique Capriles Radonski.

Municipal elections in December 2013. The patriotic alliance won 256 municipalities and the opposition 81.

2015

Parliamentary elections in December 2015. The opposition parties obtained 112 seats (including the three for indigenous representation) and the PSUV 55.

2017

Election of ANC members in July 2017, with a turnout of 41.53% (more than eight million people). The opposition did not participate.

Governor elections in October 2017. The PSUV won 18 of the 23 governorships. Then Zulia would be added because the opposition standard bearer who was elected was not sworn in before the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) and the National Electoral Council (CNE) repeated the process in that state in the December municipal elections.

Municipal elections in December 2017. The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) obtained 308 mayoralties and the opposition 37. . . What predictions do you have for the political situation in Venezuela for these next elections?