Far-right Venezuelan politician María Corina Machado in a campaign rally at Street 72nd in Maracaibo, Zulia state, on Tuesday, May 2, 2024. Photo: X/@ConVzlaComando.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Far-right Venezuelan politician María Corina Machado held a rally in Maracaibo, Zulia state. It was held despite her constant claims of the “Maduro dictatorship” imposing restrictions on her travel around Venezuela and her presidential campaign that, in reality, is Edmundo González Urrutia’s.
This Tuesday, May 2, the far-right politician filled two and a half blocks in the intersection of 72nd Street and Bella Vista Avenue in the most affluent area of Zulia state’s capital. She managed to create an “uproar” on social media about the “massive attendance,” thanks to carefully taken photos and videos spread using bots and “influencers” on the far-right sector’s US-funded payroll.
Despite being a state controlled by Governor Manuel Rosales, head of the Un Nuevo Tiempo party, belonging to the Unitary Platform (PUD) that supports Machado, opposition forces were not able to fill more than three blocks in a neighborhood traditionally supportive of any far-right alternatives to Chavismo. This heavily contrasts with the massive march in Caracas held on May 1 to commemorate International Workers’ Day and in support of President Maduro.
¿Qué tal una toma aérea desde un poquito más arriba?
La foto que le faltó mostrar a María Corina Machado de su visita en Maracaibo, estado Zulia.
Me cuentan que le llegó previo a su reunión con Manuel Rosales y por eso no la ha publicado. ¡Qué cosas!
¿La vieron en CNN? pic.twitter.com/nR3IztNxdj
— ✽ Orlenys Ortiz 🍁🍃 (@OrlenysOV) May 3, 2024
On Tuesday night, Venezuelan journalist Orlenys Ortiz shared a different perspective, showing the actual attendance at the far-right rally in Maracaibo. The post contrasts those the journalist shared about President Maduro’s May Day march in Caracas.
Zulia is a key state in the elections because it has the largest electoral roll. There is no other region in Venezuela with as many voters. This is not the first time Machado has had a small turnout in Zulia state. During her campaign for the primary elections, she visited Santa Lucía, Zulia state, where she did not have popular support and had to bring people from other nearby towns.
In recent days, Machado has rallied in several Venezuelan states for the Democratic Unitary Platform’s (PUD) presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia. She has been seen with posters of the 74-year-old candidate, who has stated that he will not campaign in person as much as Machado.
A brief analysis by Orinoco Tribune on the social media coverage of the political rally where Machado proudly raised a poster of the actual presidential candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, demonstrated how photos and videos were taken at very fast speed and low altitude to create the appearance of a greater attendance than there was.
A video shared by former so-called interim president Juan Guaidó from his exile in Miami uses drone footage to present a partial and limited overview of the real turnout of far-right supporters. If closely watched, it aligns almost perfectly with the images shared by Orlenys Ortiz.
Venezuela’s upcoming presidential elections are scheduled for July 28. With only 10 weeks in the presidential race, many analysts expect that more media manipulation and artificial augmentation of the turnouts supporting far-right forces will be spread on social media and traditional media during the coming weeks.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/SF
