Promises of political change, family reunions and a prosperous future mark the first days of the fleeting presidential campaign in Venezuela, both from the opposition, led by the “maternal” figure of María Corina Machado, who is not a candidate, and from the government itself and its candidate for reelection, Nicolás Maduro, according to experts.
The opposition candidate for the Unitary Platform, Edmundo González Urrutia, and Maduro, for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela and its left-wing allies, polarize the options for the July 28 election, which local political actors and the international community hope will help settle the prolonged political crisis in the South American country.
On Thursday, July 4, the electoral campaign officially began in a race where the opposition, for the first time in the last 25 years, is the favorite.
In a context of discontent with the ruling party, which could interrupt a quarter-century of Chavista rule, President Maduro is launching his campaign “without a clear concept of his strategy” and with some contradictions, according to political scientist Jesús Castellanos.
In conversation with the Voice of AmericaThe electoral affairs specialist points out that Chavismo launched two videos with different messages: one, where there is an allusion to former president Hugo Chávez, to “reconquer part of the Chavista vote”; and another, without him, appealing to “hope” and projecting Maduro as a “fresh option.”
Maduro has tried to imitate María Corina Machado in his street events, appearing “affable, approachable, friendly,” Castellanos diagnoses, although he recalls that he was later seen “discriminating” against González because of his age, calling him a “decrepit old man.”
Political scientist Víctor Maldonado, for his part, emphasizes that both political factions are surprising with the coincidence of their messages in this campaign.
“They are fighting for the hope of a change to improve people’s conditions,” he points out. VOAIn his opinion, the government “planned its strategy poorly” because, as a government, it must credibly justify the causes of the current problems of the Venezuelan people.
Maduro and his spokesmen often argue that the main reason for the national crisis is the policy of economic sanctions by foreign governments, supported by the opposition. This discourse is part of their campaign pieces for the July 28 election.
The argument, according to Maldonado, “looks worn out” in Venezuela.
He stresses that the opposition and Chavismo have opted for an “emotional campaign” where images “overshadow words” and political offers are “subordinated” to the strength and messages of leaders like Machado and Maduro.
“At one extreme is Nicolas Maduro, who has taken advantage of all the power he wields without limits. At the other end is the charismatic support of Maria Corina, who offers the reunification of families as a happy ending,” Maldonado points out.
“The emotional street is with María Corina, but the potential strength of the organization, the advantage of having all the public powers and the ability to reformulate the rules of the game at any time, are in the fist of the ruling party,” he concludes.
Machado, a key figure
Laura Castellanos, a specialist in strategic communication, crisis and image, stressed that the surveys reveal that there is a high expectation of participation among an electorate that seemed tired of politics and voting every two years.
There, messages of “hope, prosperity and change are vital,” he says.
He warns that Chavismo launched “trial balloons” during the pre-campaign that did not work in its favor, such as trying to position other opposition candidates and denouncing alleged assassination attempts.
According to the expert, the opposition’s strategy of anticipating visits to towns and regions in the interior, with Machado at the head, was so successful that it “dragged” the official candidate, who had focused on being “100% digital”, with programs and messages on social networks and the Internet.
Machado establishes herself as a “protective mother figure” and “an empowered politician” in her mass rallies in towns in regions such as Los Andes, with a “triumphant, but not triumphalist” message and a “popular, but not populist” speech, she notes.
The mobilizations of both candidates in cities like Caracas will also be “key”, since the opposition seems determined to dispute their spaces “on equal terms” and “without fear” of repressive acts against their supporters, says the specialist.
An “atypical” campaign
Pablo Andrés Quintero, political scientist and managing partner of the firm LOG Consultancy, believes that the electoral campaign is “extremely atypical”, is “empty of tangible proposals” and starts marked by hostility between the actors in dispute.
However, he notes similarities in the messages from both blocks.
“There is one thing that both sides have in common, which is the issue of family, reunion, family unity. Chavismo has not been able to communicate how it is going to solve everyday problems,” such as the failure of public services, he says.
Chavismo has also shown a communication “saturated” with disqualifications against its adversaries, perhaps “excessive,” Quintero emphasizes. “The opposition has avoided confrontation and has taken it upon itself to talk about change and the future,” he points out.
Maduro and his supporters, for their part, insist on using the term “transformation” to suggest that there are government plans to solve national problems, he says.
“It is a rather abstract concept to talk about transformation without a real anchoring of what it means, which is not seen or perceived, it is quite delicate,” he warns. VOA.
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