Machado’s detractors on attack after Venezuelan primaries victory

Caracas, Oct 23 (EFE).- A day after Venezuela’s opposition primaries, the detractors of the undisputed winner María Corina Machado emerged from all fronts on Monday with the firm objective of discrediting the anti-Chavista and invalidating the process in which citizens elected the person they see capable of defeating President Nicolás Maduro in the 2024 presidential elections.

The resounding victory of Machado, who obtained 92.56 percent of the votes, according to the second official bulletin based on 64.88 percent of the votes counted, sparked chain reactions from opponents who offered to join the cause of “unity,” but also of detractors who took on the task of delegitimizing the elections.

The first to go on the attack was the primaries candidate for Democratic Action (AD), Carlos Prosperi, who maintained his offensive in recent days against the organizers of the polls and on Monday issued a statement in which he stressed that there were “irregularities” in the elections.

Later, AD recognized the “strong, very clear and very resounding” victory of the former deputy and assured that the position of Prosperi, who did not recognize the results, “is not the position” of the party.

From Chavismo, harsh criticism of the primaries also arose in press conferences, on social networks and in official media programs, where they rejected participation and maintained the argument that Machado, who is disqualified from holding office, will not be able to participate in the presidential elections.

Chavismo’s number two, Diosdado Cabello, who from the beginning of the primary process had insisted that they were not going to be held, assured Monday that the polls were “electoral fraud” that “attacks true democracy.”

In his usual Monday press conference, the also first vice president of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela accused the opposition of “inflating the numbers” and denied the presence of voters in the booths established by the National Commission of Primaries, organizer of the elections.

Cabello assured that the “entire country” was “witness of the number of centers where there was no one” and that, according to his own calculations, which have been “checked and verified,” around 600,000 people voted.

Furthermore, he reiterated, that Machado has no “possibility” of participating in the 2024 presidential elections, due to her disqualification.

For his part, President Nicolás Maduro called the opposition primary a “big scam,” and accused those who promoted them of mocking their supporters.

Critical and dissident anti-Chavista deputies from the bulk of the opposition also described the primaries as “failed” and asked the competent institutions to investigate the process as they considered it “a big deception” of the people.

Parliamentarian Luis Eduardo Martínez and AD member led the statements in which the deputies criticized the process.

However, the criticism did not overshadow the joy of the opposition, and the majority of anti-Chavistas celebrated Machado’s victory and praised the unity demonstrated in the poll that, they assure, they will maintain.

Meanwhile, Machado, in her first words after being elected, insisted that she will remove Maduro from power in 2024, and is prepared to tear down “obstacles” and “abuses.” EFE

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