Nothing Leopoldo López says in this clandestine video is new. But hearing the conviction in his voice, clinging to the bars on his window, is more powerful than anything he says. (Note: the video appears to be old, but it has only recently been released)
Good old Maria Corina Machado. Today she was not allowed to register her candidacy due to the government’s push to have her barred from public office. So, instead, she announced that her replacement candidate would be Sociologist Isabel Pereira. I didn’t know much about Pereira before today, but from the looks of it, she brings…
This Foreign Policy piece by Roberto Lovato has gotten a bit of pushback because of its less-than-rosy account of the public persona of Leopoldo López. And, in particular, for its cryptochavista fixation with the events of April, 2002. Putting that aside, though, it’s an accomplished, in-depth look at López’s life and career – where he grew up, who his…
CC commenter Syd asked this question in the previous post: “Does Maria Corina Machado lead a political party?” The answer is both yes and no. Confused? Then, allow me to explain. It does exist, but isn’t allowed yet to participate in any election (at least on its own). Why? Well… it’s a long story. Two…
(Una entrevista exclusiva con Caracas Chronicles) En la Quinta El Bejucal de Altamira todo es movimiento. La casa es de esas típicas quintas de los años cuarenta o cincuenta que recuerdan a una Venezuela que ya no existe – espacios amplios que integran la vegetación tropical a la casa, y que permiten que entre la…
Yesterday, Maria Corina Machado offered a press conference to react to the Comptroller-General’s decision to bar her from holding public office for 12 months, which would leave her out of December 6th’s legislative election. Machado said that the formal reason given for her punishment is that she failed to declare her CestaTickets (a kind of private food-stamp often included…
Maria Corina Machado received today this paper from the Comptroller-General’s office, informing her that she’s declared ineligible to hold any public post for the next twelve months, therefore barring her of running in the December 6th legislative election. The picture of the document’s first page doesn’t say the specific reasons of why she has been…
The hunger strike – an essential tool in the non-violent struggle against tyranny – has an uneven history. Mahatma Gandhi undertook numerous hunger strikes, most of them succesful. According to this Wikipedia page, Gandhi took part in seventeen hunger strikes during his lifetime, and not all of them against the British. Some of them were to call…
Over the last three years, divisions within the Venezuelan opposition have gone from taboo to in-your-face, from elephant in the room to full-blown suppurating eyesore. And everyone seems to admit this, except for the opposition leadership. I understand Chavismo’s need to resort to denial of dissent as a defense mechanism for unresolved daddy issues, but…
Some of our readers have been wondering why we haven’t said anything about Saturday’s marches in Venezuela and abroad. For the record, here is my brief take: The marches? A galvanizing, resounding success. Obviously, not enough. But they amp up the pressure, and that´s not a bad thing. Leopoldo? Proved his mettle as a leader by…
For the first time in more than a year, Leopoldo Lopez spoke to Venezuelans in a video smuggled out of Ramo Verde prison. In it, he announced the beginning of a hunger strike, calling Venezuelans to take to the streets this coming Saturday. Prior to the video being made public yesterday, the government entered into full freakout mode. López’s co-prisoner,…
Most opposition insiders were viewing today’s primaries to select opposition candidates for Parliament with a mix of fear and dread. Many voters were not informed of the election, the media was looking the other way, and the funding was short. The goal was to get 350,000 voters to show up (out of around 7 million eligible…
The opposition will be holding a primary this Sunday. In 35 electoral circuits around the country, anyone able to vote will be allowed to select the person he or she prefers to be the unity candidate(s) for those circuits. This webpage, and this article by Puzkas, are a useful reference for the interested voter. Sadly, you probably haven’t…
The MUD will be holding primaries in 33 electoral circuits this Sunday. The primaries will be used to elect opposition candidates for the Parliamentary Elections that will supposedly take place before the year is up. At this point, we should be hearing about the candidates – what they offer, what their message is, how they…
Here’s what we know so far about the MUD primaries for National Assembly nominations: they will happen on May 17th, and only in 38 out of 87 districts up for election. Compared it to the previous parliamentary elections, we had primaries in 22 out of 87 district. The fact that there will be more primaries now is an improvement, but given…
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