Infighting Between Local Campaign Commands Reveals Fragmentation in Unitary Platform

By Misión Verdad – May 7, 2024

With a little more than two months left until the presidential elections, Venezuela’s opposition continues to publicly display an absence of unity. The division is now accentuated by disputes over control of regional and municipal campaign commands.

A series of complaints have been issued over social media platforms by regional representatives of the Unitary Platform (PUD) regarding the leading role seized by Vente Venezuela (VV), the political organization led by María Corina Machado, in the command structure.

Machado’s campaign manager Magalli Meda, a fugitive from justice protected by the Argentine embassy, has said that on a national scale, there are around 15,000 “comanditos” deployed in support of Edmundo González Urrutia, which gives the impression that there is an intense and cohesive campaign underway.

However, representatives of parties such as Democratic Action (AD), Un Nuevo Tiempo (UNT), Popular Will (VP) and Convergencia have expressed their concern regarding the current structure of the presidential campaign in the Trujillo region. They have sent a letter to the national leadership of the PUD in which they urgently requested the review and restructuring of the management structure at the regional, municipal, and local levels.

In the letter, the aforementioned representatives asked for immediate consideration, due to the sectarianism and exclusion of the political parties involved, of the waste of the strong presence in the 20 municipalities and parishes, as well as the concentration of power in a minority group, calling itself Voluntariado Somos Trujillo, linked to Vente Venezuela.

This reality is not exclusive to Trujillo state; on the contrary, in other areas of the country there are many complaints such as those made from Trujillo. This demonstrates the national scope of the infighting.

The general secretary of the Movement towards Socialism (MAS), Felipe Mujica, has highlighted the importance of having a “plural” campaign command for the PUD candidate. Mujica has reported on a meeting with the opposition candidate, together with Omar Barboza, PUD secretary general, to address this issue.

This situation will be difficult to resolve with the “candidate” due his lack of willingness, at least in the media, to personally take care of the electoral campaign and, consequently, the tour the regions.

These tensions are added to those of opposition mayors in various municipalities who, after expressing their support for Edmundo González, have also made public claims regarding the control of the municipal campaign commands.

Barboza has supported the complaints with a statement in which he recognizes the growing tensions between the sectors that represent María Corina Machado and the rest of the political organizations. This text mentions the difficulties that exist in the states to move forward in a united and organized manner towards electoral victory and promises future guidelines to clarify these uncertainties.

En los comandos de campaña regionales hay tensión entre los representantes de @MariaCorinaYA y varios partidos políticos tradicionales por el control de los mismos. Parte del G4 llevó la queja a la PU, originando esta carta de @OmarBarbozaDip como respuesta: pic.twitter.com/DI403iHJ7y
— Alejandro Hernández (@ahernandezof) May 3, 2024

If there really was a cohesive force around the candidacy of Edmundo González, objectivity would be prioritized in the selection of the parties with the best organizational structure in each region to lead the campaign commands, because this would ensure the representation of the various sectors that support the “candidate.” However, the claims reveal a different reality.

María Corina Machado and her party seek to place themselves above other parties, ignoring and excluding those with a more solid platform than Vente Venezuela. This is based on the results of the primaries and her attempt to project an image of “unquestionable” leadership and, thus, demonstrates that this is enough to transfer support to a relatively unknown candidate, who now bears the presidential hope of the PUD.

Let us also remember that the PUD—including the entities that preceded it—which seeks to lead the campaign process of an already questionable opposition ecosystem now retracts its opinion and is ethically less qualified due to its attacks and contempt towards the electoral institutions, their questionable beliefs on issues such as the automation of voting, and their historical tendency to promote electoral abstention.

On the other hand, PUD representatives make little effort to hide the persistent discrepancies with María Corina Machado, despite the consensus around Edmundo González, whose candidacy also raises doubts when closely examined. Parties such as Un Nuevo Tiempo do not focus on campaigning for the old diplomat but on highlighting the leadership of Manuel Rosales and crediting him with “saving the electoral route.” It seems that there is more interest in gaining ground for the 2025 regional elections than in genuinely supporting the PUD candidate.

Venezuela: Brief Background of Opposition Presidential Candidates

Democratic Action is embroiled in additional problems following internal divisions that resulted in the party’s division. A different board has taken control of the political platform and is backing its own candidate. This opens up another element in the complex opposition dispersion: not only are weaknesses evident in the support for Edmundo González, but the so-called “unitary candidacy” faces a variety of opposition currents with their own presidential candidacies, underestimated by the dominant sector. This could imply a significant decrease in support for González.

Thus, the situation of the opposition appears, to say the least, worrying, in terms of its political and electoral goals. Its internal divisions and the appetite for personal or group interests of its leaders, far from consolidating it, bring it closer to implosion. This attitude leaves the needs of their voters forgotten and, without a doubt, makes the path they must take facing July 28 difficult. The opposition, with its disputes, is being honest, although involuntarily, by showing what it would really offer if it came to power: an uncertain future marked by discord among its leaders.

(Misión Verdad)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JRE/SL