“I went from being a cover to a ‘bottle’ and now I’m in this mess.”
The phrase, which has been repeated with laughter by his supporters in many cities, such as Maracaibo, has served Edmundo González Urrutia to humorously summarise how he went from being a figure behind the scenes of the opposition to its formal candidate for the presidency of Venezuela.
Three months ago, González Urrutia, a 74-year-old retired veteran diplomat, was considered a “cover” or reserve candidate for the Democratic Unity Roundtable while the coalition chose its definitive candidate for the highest elected office.
He was born in La Victoria, in the state of Aragua, on August 29, 1949. He is a specialist in International Studies from the Central University of Venezuela and completed a master’s degree in International Relations from the American University of Washington.
He was Venezuela’s ambassador to Algeria during the second presidency of social democrat Carlos Andrés Pérez (1991-1993) and to Argentina between 1998 and 2002, representing the governments of Rafael Caldera and the founder of Chavismo, Hugo Chávez Frías.
He was director of a planning committee of the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the period 1990-1991. Between 1994 and 1998, he directed the foreign policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the presidency of the Christian Socialist Rafael Caldera.
He also served as Venezuela’s ambassador to Argentina from 1998 to 2002, during the early years of the late President Hugo Chávez’s administration.
He lived with his wife, Mercedes López de González, in at least seven countries during his studies and diplomatic career, including Belgium, the United States and England.
Professor, writer and columnist, he was by no means a high-profile politician when the alliance of anti-Chavez parties announced that it had registered him as its presidential candidate on its Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) ticket in April of this year.
He was then known as the bloc’s international relations liaison and his analyses of geopolitical issues were often published in the local and foreign press.
Some called it outsiderothers an unknown. Today, with broad popular support behind him, he aspires to preside over a new political moment in his country.
The figure of the opposition unity
The MUD unanimously supported him just over 90 days ago, but his name was not the first, nor the second, nor the third, on the list of possible opposition candidates.
At the top was María Corina Machado, leader of Vente Venezuela and winner of the anti-Chavez presidential primary with more than 92% of the votes last October.
After leaders of the ruling party publicly swore that Machado would never be a candidate, government institutions, such as the comptroller’s office and the electoral authority, confirmed her disqualification from holding public office for 15 years.
Machado decided to nominate Corina Yoris, an 80-year-old professor and philosopher who had recently been promoted to membership in the Venezuelan Academy of Language, instead. The National Electoral Council also blocked her nomination, according to the opposition.
The Un Nuevo Tiempo party had registered its founder, Manuel Rosales, a former electoral challenger to Hugo Chávez in 2006 and governor of the region with the most voters in the country, Zulia. A few weeks later, he declined to vote in favor of González Urrutia.
An “honorable” politician, they call him.
González Urrutia is considered a “respectable” man in the diplomatic world and now in politics, according to analysts. He has a cordial relationship, even with his adversaries.
He demonstrated this in his first days as a candidate, when Antonio Ecarri, a dissident candidate from Chavismo and the opposition, called him a “spare tire” and he ended up inviting him to have coffee to talk about national political issues.
Chavismo will have the opportunity to participate politically in our government, like everyone else, within the framework of the Constitution.”
The stronghold of his candidacy is María Corina Machado, considered by analysts to be the great elector of this political moment in Venezuela. Sometimes alone, sometimes with him, she traveled by land to towns and cities in the four cardinal points of Venezuela to ask thousands to support González Urrutia, whom she called “honorable and honest.”
Machado congratulated him on Thursday, at the end of his campaign, for having taken a step forward to be the candidate of the democratic opposition forces. “It was providence that made a man with your human, ethical and professional qualities, with the support of his family, take this very difficult decision,” she told the opposition candidate in front of the press.
María Alexandra Semprún, political scientist at Rafael Urdaneta University, comments to the Voice of America that González Urrutia went from being “an unknown” to projecting himself as “a measured man, who knows how to respect the forms” of diplomacy and high politics.
His personal characteristics have helped to “balance” the opposition political world and send “moderate” messages to institutional actors and political factors of Chavismo, according to political scientist Piero Trepiccione, from the Gumilla analysis center.
He projects himself as “an ideal person to lead a transition process” in a Venezuela where Chavismo will continue to have a majority in the rest of the public institutions, regardless of the result of the election, he assures in conversation with the VOA.
González Urrutia has been an ideal “tool” for the opposition to maintain its strategy of political and electoral participation, he says, publicly distancing herself from the radicalism that Maduro and his spokesmen within the opposition claim to see.
In speeches and interviews, the opposition leader has promised that one of his first measures as president will be the release of the more than 200 political prisoners in Venezuela, according to figures from the NGO Foro Penal.
He promises to depoliticize the armed forces, improve salaries, promote free enterprise and the free market, reduce inflation and eliminate poverty to facilitate the return of millions of Venezuelan migrants and refugees from different parts of the world.
Speaking softly, González Urrutia often mentions “reconciliation” among Venezuelans as the guiding principle of his project. Like his rival, Nicolás Maduro, he preaches “peace.” “Enough of threats and insults,” he said in June.
His image and rhetoric of a good-natured grandfather contrast with the accusations of Chavismo that he is a representative of the “extreme right” that intends to plunder the country and promote scenarios of political violence after Sunday’s election.
Instead, he has declared himself open to political negotiations and amnesties, within a framework of transitional justice and intolerance towards corruption.
He also supports the need for “strict mechanisms” of accountability and auditing in the State. However, his main objective is to achieve “freedom,” he said, predicting a “change” in national policy not only for one sector, but “for all.”
Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channels Youtube, WhatsApp and to newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Add Comment