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Venezuelan evangelical pastor Javier Bertucci has promised to mobilize his vast network of followers in upcoming regional elections to defeat the ruling Socialist Party candidate and become governor of the industrial state of Carabobo.
By Reuters – Vivian Sequera and Brian Ellsworth
Sep 23, 2021
But the country’s main opposition parties refused to back his candidacy following years of suspicions that he is a shadow ally of President Nicolás Maduro – allegations Bertucci calls unfounded.
The result is that two opposition candidates will be running for Carabobo governor on anti-government platforms in the Nov 21 vote, with the opposition’s Unity Platform coalition fielding former mayor Enzo Scarano alongside Bertucci.
“The government wants there to be division in all of the states,” said Bertucci in an interview in August. “We’re going to build unity.”
In all 23 states plus the capital Caracas, at least two candidates calling themselves opposition leaders are expected to run against Socialist Party – strengthening the hand of Maduro’s allies.
The opposition needs to at least maintain the four governorships it currently has to renew faith in the ballot box as a means of confronting Maduro, said Luis Vicente Leon of polling firm Datanalisis.
“The objective of the regional elections is for the opposition to revive interest in voting and to reconnect with its base,” said Leon in an interview.
The regional vote, which also includes elections for 335 municipal governments, poses little threat to Maduro’s control of the country. He has hung on to power despite a breathtaking collapse of the country’s economy as well as a broad U.S. sanctions program meant to force him from power.
But for the opposition, it represents an opportunity to jump back into the fray after years of hoping that the armed forces would push Maduro from office.
NEW FRACTURES
But this year’s vote has created a broad split between those who have for years confronted the Socialist Party and a group of relative newcomers including some candidates who have been accused of corruption and disguised ties to the government.
An alliance of politicians who sometimes call themselves the “minority opposition” has announced candidates in 23 states plus the capital, effectively splitting the ticket with the mainstream opposition.
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