US condemns disqualification of Venezuelan opposition frontrunner

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The US has condemned the disqualification of María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader tipped to challenge President Nicolás Maduro in elections next year, from holding office for 15 years.

Machado, a former lawmaker who has called for Maduro to be jailed over human rights abuses, will be unable to run in the presidential election if she wins the opposition’s self-organised primary in October.

“[The] decision to disqualify Machado from participating in the electoral process deprives the Venezuelan people of basic political rights,” the US state department said on Friday night. 

Machado was barred from holding office in 2015 for 12 months. But in a letter to José Brito, a government-allied lawmaker, the controller general said that the ban had been extended for 15 years owing to corruption allegations against Machado. 

The letter also accused her of backing the parallel presidency of Juan Guaidó and supporting US-led sanctions on Venezuela’s government and state-oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).

Machado, who has pledged to privatise PDVSA if elected, leads in the polls against a dozen candidates to win the opposition primary in October.

At a campaign event on Friday, Machado told supporters that the ban was “rubbish” and would not affect her campaign. “It only shows one thing: they know they’re defeated,” she said.

The opposition and Maduro had been involved in US-backed political negotiations in Mexico. The US has said it would be willing to relax sanctions in exchange for guarantees from Maduro’s government that elections would be free and fair. But the two sides have not met since November.

Venezuela boasts the world’s largest proven oil reserve but food and medicine are often scarce or prohibitively expensive. As many as 7mn Venezuelans — nearly a quarter of the population — have fled the country.

The economy has started to grow again after a decline that wiped out nearly three-quarters of gross domestic product but annual inflation runs at 429 per cent, according to the central bank.

The Organization of American States also condemned Machado’s disqualification. “The regime resorts to disqualifications and proscriptions to cling to power and liquidate any likeness to democracy while it deepens the political, social, humanitarian and economic crisis the country is living,” it said.

In an interview with the Financial Times this week, Machado warned that Maduro would attempt to tilt the election in his favour.

“There are only two options here,” she said. “We win with a huge majority or Maduro steals the election.”