Edmundo González Urrutia’s Missteps

By Misión Verdad – Apr 29, 2024

The presentation to society of Edmundo González Urrutia, the Unitary Platform (PUD) candidate for the Venezuelan presidential elections of July 28, has been loaded with forced euphoria by the media seeking to cover up its weaknesses and communication failures in the first stage of the race.

In the beginning, the 74-year-old candidate has had an intense interview schedule, which has been interrupted by medical appointments that the former diplomat has undergone due to his advanced age. This could be considered his first misstep since he has not hidden his fatigue and the condition of his health associated with his age, a characteristic that projects weakness rather than strength for the opposition PUD electorate. He has been sold as a last-minute “alternative,” but a figure with concerns of this kind hovering around.

The media’s response to PUD’s poor start has been the promotion of uncreative platitudes and full of class biases. The has highlighted the candidate’s diplomatic and intellectual credentials, his “refined” aptitude for life, and his comfortable and spacious house, in which an attempt has been made to recall Cabré’s Ávila [in reference to an iconic painting of the Spanish painter]. His insistence that he will not tour the country in a campaign has been the culmination of a series of failures that we describe below. Due to excess sincerity or inexperience, these failures directly harm him only several days after starting the presidential race against the other opposition candidates and President Nicolás Maduro.

From the traditional opposition, although he denies it
Despite presenting himself as an alternative far from traditional politics, Edmundo González Urrutia is actually part of its most typical sectors. The candidate is no stranger to the traditional parties’ sphere, demonstrated by the notable positions he held in the defunct MUD party. In an interview with the Spanish newspaper ABC, he stated, “I have never been a member of any party. I have always had independence. Never on the left. Of that, you can be sure.”

González’s forced “declaration of principles” contrasts with his political life linked to parties and areas of responsibility in the opposition world in the past and recent times. It is evident that the media’s effort to promote him as an outsider is not working. Due to his age, career, and friendly relations with representatives of the old politics that he himself has commented on—from Manuel Rosales to Henry Ramos Allup—he cannot be considered an outsider or a newcomer to politics. The idea of the outsider is incompatible with advanced age, except for the strange case of Rodolfo Hernández in Colombia, whose phenomenon has not been replicated beyond the neighboring country.

Another element that has weighed against Edmundo González in the first round has been the projection of an elitist image. The candidate generally dresses in a suit and tie, has refused to travel the country to exchange with the electorate, and has preferred the comfort of his home to attend interviews and hold private meetings. These are symbolic traits that underlie a message of contempt towards the population and a concept of class superiority, a weakness that can be taken advantage of by other opposition candidates and by President Nicolás Maduro himself.

Opting for an impersonal, distant, and empty candidacy with a large deficit of proposals seems to go against the grain of Venezuelan political culture, which develops with a deep sense of street mobilization and agitation during electoral times. Records of demonstrations of strength where the organization and the ability to frame effective messages stand out. To this, we must also include that the classist management of González Urrutia could have a powerful mobilizing effect on Chavismo, in which class polarization has been one of its main historical cleavages.

A candidacy without leadership or a leadership without candidacy
One of the most striking features of González Urrutia’s latest statements to the media has been the emphasis on presenting himself as a delegate candidate representing other people’s interests. His comments about María Corina Machado, describing her as “the undisputed leader of this process, and they respect her as such. I am just a candidate,” clearly shows his subordinate role.

Dataviva: 53.6% of Venezuelans Will Vote for Nicolás Maduro

In the interview given to the newspaper ABC Spain, almost 30% of the questions revolved around the relationship that Gonzalez has with María Corina Machado, which was repeated in Spain’s El País and other interviews by Venezuelan journalists Nelson Bocaranda, Isnardo Bravo, and Luis Olavarrieta. This shows the high level of orchestration to dilute González Urrutia’s figure while exalting Machado’s.

On the other hand, his inclination to avoid controversial topics for Venezuela’s extremist opposition, such as the illegal sanctions imposed by the United States, is clear. He avoids responsibility with immature expressions such as “I don’t want to go into that in depth.” Being a matter of first order for the country, on which every political and electoral option must have a formed opinion and a perspective of approach, González exposes himself to accusations from his opponents who can take advantage of his hesitations to lead him to an uncomfortable position.

Not giving details about the government programs that would eventually be developed in a government led by the PUD has been a constant in the interviews carried out with the candidate, although he always states that they are supposedly prepared to respond to the needs of the country. However, González Urrutia remains in generality and with little discursive creativity:

“Yes, there is a minimum government program of the force that makes up the unitary platform. There are also some strategic lines developed in a plan by María Corina Machado’s team. Those two plans are in perfect harmony and that point to everything that will recover the country on all levels–economic, political, and social. In short, the re-institutionalization of the country.”

González Urrutia has had problems clearing up the confusion that exists around his figure. As shown in his short and haphazard tour through the media, there is no minimum criterion to frame his “government proposal,” sometimes settled with platitudes, others with general mentions of Machado. In summary, González Urrutia’s “offer” is based on vague and lacking promises, which is why the opposition electorate of the PUD would be casting a vote blindly, without democratic control or minimum criteria of credibility regarding specific perspectives.

(Misión Verdad)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

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