Hundreds protest in Barinas over disqualification of Venezuelan candidate Freddy Superlano

Some 500 supporters of an opposition candidate who was retroactively disqualified when he led the vote for governor of the late President Hugo Chávez’s home state protested Saturday against a decision that has become emblematic of what they describe as unfair electoral conditions.

Under a heavy military and police presence, supporters of Freddy Superlano censured the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela that the elections be repeated in January, on the opinion that the punishment vote they exercised against the candidate of the party in power was annulled. They assured that they will prevent any candidate representing the government from winning the position of governor.

The northwestern state of Barinas It is considered a bastion of Chavismo. Superlane He was ahead of the governor in the November 21 contest Argenis Chavez, one of the president’s brothers Hugo Chavez. Argenis Chavez and his father, Adam, have served as governors of the state of Barinas since 1999.

“It was a vote of punishment against all the wrong they have done”Said retiree José Montiya, 71. “This state was for them to have as a golden cup. Here the family has sent Chávez and look at the state ”.

Montiya, who receives a monthly pension equivalent to about two dollars, cited a long list of concerns: a serious gasoline shortage, lack of hospitals, lack of basic services such as gas, water and electricity supplies, and hunger.

The Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela determined on Monday that Superlane He was not supposed to appear on the ballot because he was disqualified due to an administrative penalty imposed in August derived from his work as a legislator from 2015 to 2020.

The disqualification raised new doubts about the impartiality of the electoral system of Venezuela after the first elections in years, in which most of the main political forces had agreed to participate and which were supervised by observers from the European Union. The government of President Nicolás Maduro invited the observers, but called them “spies” after they issued a preliminary report critical of the electoral system.

The court is one of many state agencies considered loyal to the Maduro government. In recent years, the court and other agencies have blocked or ruled against the main opposition parties and candidates.

People came on foot or by bus from various parts of the state to outside a Catholic church to participate in the protest. Also from neighboring neighborhoods whose inhabitants have seen the purchasing power of their salaries and pensions lose over the years and have been forced to pay some dollars for food pantries that the government previously distributed for free. Many wore orange T-shirts and caps bearing their candidate’s name, waved Venezuelan flags and pointed their thumbs down whenever Maduro’s name was mentioned.

Gasoline rationing was one of the common complaints of protesters against the government of Argenis Chavez. The official had put in place a system that allowed people to restock for a limited number of days, which affected the daily lives of many people. Before the protest, the government announced the end of the charging system.

“We need to live better. We need to breathe. We feel drowned, tired, of these arbitrary people, “said Raquel Coromoto, 57, a resident of Barinas. “We feel like we are in a dictatorship and we want change. An authentic democracy has to be ”, he added.

Saturday, Superlane He presented his wife, Aurora Silva, as his party’s candidate for the January 9 elections. Argenis Chavez announced Tuesday his decision to resign as governor and not run again for office for the ruling party. The United Socialist Party of Venezuela had not yet chosen a candidate on Saturday.

Silva previously worked as a youth activist but has never held public office.

“I am sure that the regime did not think that we would respond in this way in Barinas. It is for the future of our children, women, it is for them that we are going to leave, ”Silva said to the crowd. “We are on the right side of history and Barinas is example. Barinas got up”.

Juan Guaidó, leader of the opposition faction that has the support of the United States and who did not vote during the elections, caused excitement upon his arrival among the protesters, who surrounded him in large numbers.

The EU observers’ report concluded that the regional contests took place under better conditions compared to the elections in recent years in the country, but that they were clouded by the use of public funds and other actions aimed at benefiting the pro-government candidates. . The electoral inspectors also stressed that the elections were marred by the disqualification of opposition opponents.

The observers announced on Saturday that they would end their mission on Sunday and that they will return early next year to present a comprehensive report. They refrained from making statements about the disqualification of Superlano.

The court’s decision was in response to a complaint filed by the political leader Adolfo Superlano, who argued “the alleged violation of the constitutional rights to participation and suffrage” in Barinas. Adolfo Superlano, who is not a relative of the now-disqualified candidate, is one of seven opposition dissidents affected by US economic sanctions after he was accused of leading actions that undermine democracy in Venezuela.

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