MIAMI – “The unity is clear, “The unit revolves and gravitates around María Corina Machado,” said the former Venezuelan mayor. Antonio Ledezmainternational political coordinator of María Corina Machado's Campaign Command, refuting the rumors that have emerged around the possible internal divisions faced by the opposition.
During an interview broadcast on the program The afternoon of NTN24the opponent rejected the “artificial scenario†that have been created by those who claim that “there is disunity” and “breakdown” of unity. In their opinion, the opposition unity “was revealed in all its splendor and strength on October 22ndâ€with the primary elections in which Machado took the leadership, being elected candidate with more than 92% of the votes.
He stated that this opposition union has been reflected in the different street activities that the Venezuelan opposition leader has had since she resumed its street agenda on April 11despite the fact that he could not apply for his candidacy due to the political disqualification imposed by the Nicolás Maduro regime and the impossibility of registering his standard bearer, Dr. Corina Yoris.
“The unity is that almost 93% of the three million Venezuelans who, so that there was no type of doubt, nor room for maneuver, said, well, We are going to appoint María Corina and we are going to give her all the powerall the strength, an apotheosic support, a mandate, which is that mandate that she is trying to fulfill,†he noted.
A leadership that grows
The former mayor rejected comments from analysts who allege that Machado “is engaged in a fight of egos†at a time when the democratic opposition seeks to define a unitary candidacy, which allows replacing the cover candidate registered with the card of the Democratic Unity Table (MUD), Edmundo González, before the end of the substitutions period at midnight on April 20.
“What more detachment are they going to ask of a woman who has even understood herself in the best way with the political parties that are part of a Unitary Platform, treating them with respect and consideration, when those parties obtained only 7% of the consultation on October 22?†he questioned.
On the afternoon of this Friday, April 19, it is expected that Machado meets with Governor Manuel Rosaleswho at the last minute registered with the card of his party Un Nuevo Tiempo (UNT), and with the other members of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), which brings together the main opposition parties.
On Thursday, the PUD hosted former rector Enrique Márquezwho registered his name after the National Electoral Council (CNE) enabled the card of the Centrados Party – which is not part of the opposition group -, around 9:00 pm on March 25, the last day of the application.
These are meetings that have been raised since the democratic opposition declared itself in a permanent session on April 16 to define a unitary candidate and the strategy to follow in the face of the presidential elections scheduled for July 28.
Ledezma stressed that Any decision made within the PUD must have the approval of the opposition leaderis “the spokesperson legitimized by the vast majority of Venezuelans on October 22” and whose leadership has increased “in the spirit and, above all, in the trust and respect that the people have for her.” .
“Any decision behind the opinion, the recommendation, the suggestion that María Corina Machado makes, I do not find any good future for it,†he stressed.
Guarantee of due process
However, the opponent denied that Maduro is willing to hand over power to “a drinkable candidateâ€as could be Rosales or Márquez, for the supposed “revenge†that Machado could undertake if he came to power.
In his opinion, Machado does not represent a “risk to the neck†of Chavista officials, but would be the ideal person to ensure due process of all Venezuelans who must appear before Venezuelan justice, since they are committed to restoring the rule of law.
“What Maduro is looking for is not to hand over power“but to perpetuate herself in power through a fraud that María Corona Machado is unable to prevent in Venezuela,” he asserted.
Firm with María Corina Machado
The opponent urged Venezuelans and the opposition leadership to remain “firm beside María Corina Machadoâ€considering that she is the leader who “is truly willing to lead us to victory” that Venezuelan society craves so much.
“My call is to stay active, inside and outside, that is why my word of encouragement, solidarity and recognition to those who are inside there, taking risks and in danger, because they are the ones who are really running the greatest risk,†he mentioned.
In addition, he asked to maintain confidence in Machado's leadership. “Let us have confidence that we are letting ourselves be guided by a woman who has a high sense of responsibility.who has the skills of a statesman, who is acting up to the commitment and challenge with which he rises and encounters every day in his fight to rescue democracy in Venezuela,†he expressed.
He stated that the “epicenter†of the decisions that the opposition has made so far has been done following the “mandate†given on October 22. “María Corina Machado is not speaking in a personal capacity, nor is she defending a personal vanity, nor a whim, nor an ego. She is very far from being a kind of caudillo leader, she She is a modern, authentic, coherent leaderwho has earned faith, trust and that is why she leads a spiritual fight,†he stressed.
He recalled that the constant call has been to stay on the electoral route, despite the “political apartheid†that launched the regime, preventing Machado's candidacy and attacking his campaign team, which has six members detained and another five asylum seekers in the Argentine Embassy in Venezuela.
Finally, Ledezma referred to the plebiscite proposed by the presidents of Brazil and Colombia, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Gustavo Petrorespectively, to guarantee the life of whoever is defeated in the upcoming elections.
“More than holding a plebiscite, they have to talk one-on-one with their friend Nicolás Maduro to tell him to stop persecuting people,” he emphasized.
