Venezuela Elections Heat Up as Opposition Candidate Announces Alliance Vs. Nicolas Maduro

The Venezuela elections are heating up as Venezuelan opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado prepares to take on Nicolas Maduro in an election that may affect US immigration as many of the migrants heading to the US-Mexico border are leaving the country to escape the political and economic crisis caused by the Maduro regime.

On Tuesday, Machado announced an alliance with political parties and civil society organizations to help organize her campaign as she challenges the deeply unpopular Nicolas Maduro for the presidency. She also called for an exact date for the elections.

This new Venezuela election came about after the US agreed to lift sanctions against Venezuela in exchange for Maduro agreeing to hold free and fair elections and allow candidates barred from holding office to be able to run and cancel their election bans.

One of these candidates barred by the Maduro regime is Machado herself, who was banned from holding any public office by the Venezuelan comptroller general. She has called her ban to be unfair and is appealing her ban to the Supreme Court, which has yet to decide on her fate, per Reuters.

"We're going to reach every last village (...) we're already building governability," she told supporters at a rally in the capital, Caracas. "No one will remove us from this electoral route. We, the people, are going to force him (Maduro) to measure himself. Set the date for the electoral process once and for all, leave the fear behind."

No election date has been set yet, with Maduro still not announcing his run for re-election yet. As for Machado, she won the opposition's sole candidacy via a landslide as the various opposition groups rallied behind her.

Nicolas Maduro Supporters Also Held a Rally in the Same Venue as Opposition Supporters

Meanwhile, a counter-rally was also held by Maduro supporters, whose gathering was made up of state workers, ruling-party community leaders, and loyalists of the late President Hugo Chavez, according to the Associated Press.

They reportedly walked across the city and concentrated on the same plaza where Machado was about to hold her own rally. They managed to force her supporters to leave the plaza and have her make her address from a makeshift stage as they waved Venezuelan flags. This caused some traffic jams in Caracas, however.

Nicolas Maduro Antics Slammed by Venezuela Opposition Candidate

Machado also recently blasted the Maduro regime over its alleged intimidation tactics during her speech. This came after her party's headquarters were vandalized and two of its members "abducted," saying that Maduro was violating their agreement.

According to Digital Journal, the government arrested 32 civilians and soldiers on Monday, claiming that they were part of an alleged US-backed plot to assassinate the president. They even implicated Machado in the plot, prompting many of Maduro's supporters to join the counter-rally.

As for Machado, she reiterated that Maduro's recent actions threatened their agreement in Barbados that was meant to guarantee "a peaceful and participatory electoral campaign and of the guarantees that candidates can move freely around the country."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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