María Corina Machado and the presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia at the UCV campus. Photo: Misión Verdad.
The recent incident at the Central University of Venezuela (UCV) has revealed, once again, the marked tendency of the Venezuelan opposition sector, represented by María Corina Machado and the presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, to challenge Venezuela’s institutions and dismiss the role of its legitimately constituted authorities.
In a statement issued by the UCV, it is clearly explained that the holding of the event, requested by representatives of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) just three days before the scheduled date, was considered inconvenient due to technical criteria provided by the Preservation Council and Development (COPRED) and the Security Directorate of the university.
“Based on the technical criteria provided by COPRED and the UCV Security Directorate, we consider it inconvenient for the aforementioned activity to be carried out in the Covered Plaza of the Rectorate, both for reasons inherent to the need to preserve the condition of world heritage of the University City, as well as those related to the security that the university must guarantee,” the text said.
The narrative of an alleged politicization of the university authorities, attempting to assign them affiliation or preference for the government of President Maduro, is an erroneous and biased interpretation. In fact, the PUD candidate himself has been on campus on other occasions without any restrictions.
As the statement points out, the refusal to hold the event in the originally proposed format is not based on political criteria but on the responsibility to protect the historical heritage of the university and guarantee the safety of attendees.
It is important to remember that the university authorities, far from identifying with the current government, have demonstrated a history of supporting the opposition. In this sense, the open challenge by the event organizers, who chose to publicly call for the activity without proper authorization, represents an offensive act, even against their own supporters.
This behavior clearly states the intention to impose one’s will above any rule.
“It is necessary to point out that it is regrettable that the organizers’ call has been publicly disseminated through various media (social networks) before receiving the institutional response,” states the UCV text. “I regret that this has created expectations that do not necessarily agree with the conditions that we consider essential. for carrying out activities such as the one at hand.”
This attitude has not gone unnoticed within the opposition itself. Critics within the sector have expressed their concern about the lack of respect for university institutions and autonomy, pointing out that these types of actions only generate distrust in a hypothetical government led by this sector.
Los opositores no están muy felices por el acto de Maria Corina Y Edmundo en la UCV. ¿No me creen? Lean: pic.twitter.com/VKyyK2bTjX
— Alejandro Rondón (@ArondonFT) July 14, 2024
The concentration at the UCV reaffirms the deep fracture within the Venezuelan opposition. The inability to dialogue and respect the rules, and the insistence on an “anything goes” that contradicts the democratic principles that the opposition boasts of defending, project an image of instability and irresponsibility that further undermines its already deteriorated credibility. Confrontation and disobedience seem to be the hallmark of their DNA, a recipe for chaos.
In this context, the government of President Maduro, with a discourse focused on stability and the search for rational solutions, is presented as the only option that privileges dialogue and understanding as pillars for national development. The government’s campaign is based on a model of reconstruction and progress, in contrast to the opposition’s path of violence and destabilization, which will only lead to chaos and the dissolution of institutions.
The Venezuelan population and the country, as a whole, require this political offer, and no other, to advance national recovery.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/KW/SL
Misión Verdad
Misión Verdad is a Venezuelan investigative journalism website with a socialist perspective in defense of the Bolivarian Revolution
