Maduro’s main bet to overthrow Chavismo after 25 years of power in Venezuelan diplomat Edmundo Gonzáles Urrutia is optimistic about the outcome of the country’s elections, which will take place on July 28.
In an interview with BBC News Mundo, when asked about the fairness of the Venezuelan electoral process, Urrutia said that, despite the reservations, he is optimistic about victory.
“Elections in Venezuela are not fair, nor are they clean, nor are they equitable. The government uses all official means to proselytize and major television stations of the official candidate. We don’t have that same opportunity and that, in itself, already demonstrates the imbalance,” the diplomat said.
“We will beat Chavismo with a majority force that will be expressed at the ballot box and the support of millions of Venezuelans who are committed to changing Venezuela,” he said.
The candidate cited his performance in the polls, which point to a positive scenario for his victory – most of them indicate 50% of voting intentions for Urrutia, while Maduro has 23%.
Urrutia was the name chosen by the Unitary Democratic Platform (PUD) after two candidates – Maria Corina Machado and Corina Yoris – were barred from running for the presidency.
With an extensive career in Venezuelan diplomacy, he was the country’s ambassador to Algeria between 1991 and 1993 and to Argentina between 1998 and 2002, during the governments of Rafael Caldera (1994-1999) and in the early years of Hugo Chávez (1999-2013).
In the interview, the diplomat said he felt honored when the PUD suggested he be its candidate. He went on to treat the dispute as a “personal commitment to Venezuelans,” focused on ousting Chavismo in the country and bringing about the change that many inhabitants are waiting for.
“It’s an unexpected situation. I never thought I’d be in this position. But when they came to me, I took it as a personal commitment to Venezuela, to the system of government and to democracy. That’s why I accepted it and I’m doing my best to take it forward,” he said.
According to Urrutia, the discourse adopted in his campaign is not one of political polarization, but of unity.
“The discourse that we maintained throughout these days of the campaign was that of a call for the reunion of Venezuelans, a call for national unity, a call in which the adversary is a political adversary and not an enemy,” he said.
He also spoke about the fact that the National Electoral Council (CNE) revoked the invitation made to the European Union (EU) to send observers to the election. Urrutia called the repeal a “bad signal from the government to the international community.”
“International observers always give assurances to governments. And a government that prevents the presence of international observers sends a bad signal, as if it wants to hide something. We want the process to be transparent and for the presidential elections to be able to be followed by most observers on the planet,” he said.
Poverty is one of the priorities
Asked about the first steps if he wins the presidency, Urrutia said that there are many priorities. One of them is related to poverty, which, according to him, will have an “economic plan” to be solved.
“The latest figures from the United Nations indicate that we have 82% of the population living in poverty. This poses a major challenge for the new government. We will strive for an economic plan that seeks international resources, that generates confidence and attracts foreign investment so that we can overcome the difficulties,” he said.
However, Urrutia stressed that the main objective at the moment is to win the elections.
“Our main goal is to convince those who still doubt that the presidential election on July 28 can help us recover democratic institutions and transform Venezuela,” he said.
Want to stay on top of the day’s top news? Click here and join our WhatsApp channel
