Venezuelan opposition leader Manuel Rosales. File photo.
The governor of Zulia state, Manuel Rosales, has not withdrawn his candidacy for the 2024 Venezuelan presidential elections. In an interview conducted on Thursday, October 5, he expressed his determination to pursue the presidency, declaring, “I will continue to aspire to the presidency until my last breath.” When asked about his potential presidential candidacy in 2024, Rosales clarified that his decision to abstain from participating in the opposition primaries should not be interpreted as the end of his presidential aspirations.
“The fact that I have said that I am not going to participate at this moment, that I am not going to register, does not mean that my aspirations have withered and died. I will continue aspiring until my last breath to be the president of the republic,” said the leader of the opposition party Un Nuevo Tiempo.
He also emphasized that all Venezuelans aspire to be presidents and that he will do “everything that has to be done” to change the political situation of the country.
During the interview, Rosales lashed out at the opposition leaders, stating that “if their strategies had been good, we would not be in this situation.”
Rosales criticized the opposition’s presidential primaries for having an abundance of candidates. This, he claimed, is the primary reason for his decision to abstain from participating in the process.
Manuel Rosales no descarta lanzarse como candidato presidencial en 2024: “Yo haré todo lo que tenga que hacer para que esto cambie(…) ¿Quien no quiere ser presidente?https://t.co/vHk0EayZWl pic.twitter.com/h4hHEhqiMN
— NotiAhora | VE 🇻🇪 (@NotiAhoraVzla) October 5, 2023
However, he also emphasized the opposition’s fervent dedication to the primaries, driven by high expectations. Nonetheless, Rosales reiterated his call to move beyond “smokescreens and failed proposals.”
Manuel Rosales has thrown his support behind Henrique Capriles in the primaries, following a meeting between the two in the state of Zulia. This move sparked speculation about Rosales’ motives, as Capriles, a pre-candidate from the Justice First party, faces disqualification.
Several primary candidates expressed disapproval of Rosales’ endorsement of Capriles, asserting that the two opposition leaders might later seek to impose a handpicked candidate—potentially Manuel Rosales himself—for the presidential elections.
The Opposition’s National Primary Commission (CNP) has not announced its course of action in the event that a disqualified candidate emerges as the winner of the opposition primary.
Venezuela: Opposition Primary Commission Refuses to Modify Election Date
Opposition journalist criticizes Rosales’ statements
Following Rosales’ statements, Miami-based opposition journalist Patricia Poleo criticized the governor, stating that Rosales’ guilt “is much greater” than that of some of the opposition members he allegedly referred to. She even commented that Rosales lived as a “sheikh” while in “self-exile” in Peru and Panama.
“You are one of the worst, if not the worst, because you have been involved in all the schemes and all the tricks that have brought the country down to where it is now,” Poleo said. “He lived in Peru in the most expensive areas, he had several very expensive vehicles, he had a driver and bodyguards.”
She added that Rosales, just like Leopoldo López, Juan Guaidó, and Julio Borges, “is enjoying the money stolen from the country….they are crooks and accomplices of Manuel Rosales.”
She added that money seized by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) from the Venezuelan state that is being released by the same OFAC now is destined to finance the so-called “heroes of democracy,” the members of the G4, including the Un Nuevo Tiempo (UNT) party.
“In the coming weeks, they are going to receive a huge amount of money in dollars, which they are not going to share with the people,” she said. “They are going to keep it for themselves; it is for the leadership of each party. And a good slice of that money goes to Rosales.”
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/DZ
