Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado will not be able to face Maduro due to a legal trick by the Government. Machado is disqualified for omitting food vouchers in a declaration of assets dating back to 2015.
Chavismo used this alleged irregularity to eliminate her from the electoral race. The decision also occurs in a climate of maximum tension: last week the authorities arrested more than 30 people accused of alleged conspiracy to assassinate Maduro. But if this current devilish situation demonstrates anything, it is that, for the minimum conditions for a change to be met, Maduro has to be willing to modify his authoritarian way of operating.