Venezuela opposition candidate says he will guarantee political freedom

19/5/2024 11:24

        Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez said on Saturday he will ensure all political parties are free to operate if he unseats President Nicolas Maduro in a July vote, and he urged the military to uphold the country's institutions as intended by the constitution.
        
        Gonzalez, a former ambassador to Algeria and Argentina, was named by the Unitary Platform opposition coalition in April as its candidate after a ban against landslide primary winner Maria Corina Machado's holding office was upheld by the Supreme Court.
        
        The opposition has said Machado's ban is illegal and an attempt by Maduro's government, which has overseen a deep economic crisis in the country, to tamp down support for the opposition in the July 28 presidential election.
        
        Standing on a large truck bed, Gonzalez and Machado spoke to a chanting crowd of about 3,000 in La Victoria, Gonzalez's hometown in central Aragua state.
        Gonzalez said he will ensure political movements can exercise their rights under the constitution, urging voters to imagine a country "where the president does not insult or see his adversaries as enemies."