Someone May Be Using A Border Dispute to Stay in Power
What won’t Maduro do next? With Venezuela’s the highly anticipated election just about one month away, Guyana received yet another voice of support in her corner, this time from the Government of Canada. Canada’s support is timely as many pundits posit that Venezuela’s President, Nicolas Maduro may use the border issue with Guyana as a smokescreen to retain his grip on power in the Bolivarian Republic.
Nicholas Maduro (left) Diosdado Cabello (right)
The words of support came from Canada’s High Commissioner to Guyana, Mark Berman, who recently hosted an event to celebrate Canada Day in Guyana. According to High Commissioner Berman, “the Canadian Government is concerned with the tensions between Guyana and Venezuela and we reiterate that we stand with the Guyanese people, we stand with the Government and we call for respect of international law.”
Guyana and Venezuela are currently awaiting the final ruling on the claim of the Essequibo region from the International Court of Justice, However, despite promising to remain peaceful while the court deliberates on the matter the Spanish speaking country has continued its acts of hostility and provocation led by their soon to be unseated President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuelans will head to the polls to elect their new president and other leaders on July 28, 2024. Meanwhile pundits and Venezuelans alike remain wary of Maduro and his allies machinations to stay in office.
It is believed that should Maduro be unsuccessful at the polls he would then use the claim to the majority of Guyana’s territory to call a state of emergency in the country, thus retaining power in his country. So far, Maduro has managed to remove his main competition, Maria Corina Marchado from running in this year’s elections and for the next 15 years with a bar that was upheld by Venezuela’s top court when challenged in January. Next came the blocking of Ms Marchado’s replacement Corina Yoris. Ms Corina Yoris after being named as the replacement opposition candidate was unable to access the electoral authority's online system to register as a candidate before the deadline in March.
Maria Corina Marchado campaigning - AP photo
President Maduro’s administration also rescinded an invitation to the European Union to observe the election in July because of the sanctions levied on some the government’s officials. Despite these attempts to block a duly elected opposition candidate, the opposition parties have now rallied behind Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who is now the official candidate of a large opposition coalition known as the Democratic Unitary Platform.
Edmundo Urritia -CNN Photo
Mr Urrutia has been described as a man of few words in many online news outfits. Fortunately, his campaign remains strong with the tireless support of Maria Corina Marchado. He served in the foreign service as an ambassador to Algeria and Argentina and later as a back bench manager for Venezuela’s opposition. Maduro became interim president in March 2013 after the death of charismatic leader Hugo Chávez’s. He then narrowly won election weeks later and was re-elected in 2018 in an electoral process that has been widely criticized as fraudulent.
