Venezuela’s embattled opposition announced Friday it has named a new candidate to take on President Nicolas Maduro this summer, bringing renewed hope to the country’s push for democracy.
The country’s highest court barred the previous candidate, former lawmaker María Corina Machado, from running in January, leaving many Venezuelans wondering how free and fair the elections would be. The decision raised questions about whether Ms. Machado’s party, Come Venezuela, would try to push for her candidacy or unite around another candidate.
On Friday. leaders of several opposition parties announced that Corina Yoris, professor of philosophy, would run for office in the July 28 elections, a move that analysts saw as a surprising show of unity.
“This is huge,” said Laura Dib, who directs the Venezuela program at the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights organization. “It is truly astonishing to see the opposition united around a single strategy and showing that they are not backing down.”
In October, Maduro signed a deal with the country’s opposition, agreeing to work toward a free and fair presidential election. In the deal, Maduro said he would hold elections before the end of this year, and in return the United States lifted some economic sanctions as a sign of goodwill.
But days later, Ms. Machado won more than 90 percent of the vote to choose an opposition candidate, in primaries organized by a committee without government intervention. The decisive results highlighted her popularity and raised the prospect that she could defeat Mr Maduro in a general election.
Three months later, the country’s highest court, filled with government loyalists, declared Ms. Machado ineligible for an investigation into what the judges said were financial irregularities that took place when she was a national lawmaker. The government also arrested several members of its campaign. Men on motorcycles have attacked supporters at her events.
Ms Machado made the announcement at a press conference with Ms Yoris on Friday, just days before the March 25 deadline to register.
“We have found a person who I trust completely, honorably, who will perform this procedure,” Ms. Machado said. “This was a decision that emerged from the discussion about unitary forces and gives us all confidence.”
Ms Yoris was a member of the committee that helped organize the October primaries, sparking speculation that the government might not allow her to register as a candidate. The government has questioned the legitimacy of the opposition primaries and has taken legal action against the organisers.
The fact that the head of another rival opposition party, Omar Barboza, opened the conference was a further show of unity, Ms Dib said.
“We are moving towards a transition path in Venezuela,” Ms Yoris said. “We are all needed in this moment.”
Julie Turkewitz contributed reporting from Santander, Colombia.