The registration of presidential candidacies in Venezuela on Monday anticipated the opaque climate of an electoral process. Chavismo demonstrated that it maintains absolute control of the institutions and their rules of the game.

The opposition could not even register the candidate named as a substitute, the academic Corina Yoris. The White House, the European Union, but also progressive Latin American governments showed concern about the lack of guarantees for the vote. The registration of candidates has prefigured is an arduous battle for basic electoral rights.