Edmundo González Urrutia, a 74-year-old former diplomat, came out of retirement to venture into one of the most peculiar political adventures in the modern history of Venezuela.
After the consecutive disqualifications of two opposition leaders, María Corina Machado and Corina Yoris, González Urrutia was chosen by the Democratic Unitary Platform to be the standard bearer of the forces that oppose President Nicolás Maduro.
Maduro aspires to be re-elected in the July 28 election despite having governed the country for 25 years and been denounced, both inside and outside of Venezuela, formultiple acts of corruptionand human rights violations.
“This was an unexpected situation that I neither expected nor sought.I made the decision as a contribution on my part to the solution of the problems in Venezuela, a contribution to Venezuelan democracy. It was a decision that we made as a family, in consultation with my wife and my two daughters who absolutely supported me,” González Urrutia said in an interview with Noticias Telemundo.
Despite being little known, compared to the popular Machado (who was a congressman and founder of the Vente Venezuela party), González Urrutia has emerged as a figure who could bring together the discontent of Venezuelans dealing with a long economic crisis characterized by rampant inflation (193% in 2023 alone), among other difficulties.
"When I accepted the proposal they made to me to participate as a candidate, I told them that for this to have political force I had to have the unanimous endorsem*nt of the parties that make up the Democratic Unitary Platform. And so it was. All the parties unanimously decided to support me to present my candidacy before the CNE as a presidential candidate,” hesaid.
According to the most recent polls, that support has worked among the country’s electorate: Polling firms such as Meganalisis and Datincorp give him broad support, ranging from61.1%to50%, respectively.
However, analysts and experts warn that the winning candidate will have to dealwith a climate of insecurity andthe absence of democratic guarantees.
María Puerta-Riera, a professor of political science at Valencia College in Florida, has no doubt that the opposition can win elections, “because people are fed up and want to support any opposition option."
"The problem is that we know that it is not the first time that the government has ignored electoral results and we know that it is willing to go to any lengths to remain in power,” she said.
Since January, the government has arrested and imprisoned 10 members of the opposition, and nongovernmental organizations like Foro Penal denounce that there are274 political prisonersbeing held in the country. And theInternational Criminal Court is investigating Maduro and other senior government officials for alleged crimes against humanity such as forced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions and torture against political dissidents during protests in 2017, in which 125 people died.
González Urrutia said that despite all this adverse political climate, he's not afraid and is going to undertake an intense electoral campaign.
“I intend to participate in a good part of the rallies that are being organized throughout the country," he said.
However, analysts like Puerta-Riera warn about the risks facing any opposition candidate.
“The important thing is to recognize that the government is going to use all its formal and informal power to prevent his victory," she said. "Not only are they going to send the police to persecute and monitor him, but they also have armed informal groups. I doubt that they will allow him to campaign freely."
A hope for better U.S.-Venezuela relations
González Urrutia has extensive experience as a public official, being an ambassador in Algeria and Argentina, and having worked in diplomatic offices in Belgium, El Salvador and the U.S. He was ambassador to Argentina under President Hugo Chávez, who died in 2013.
“I served a few years as a representative of the government of Venezuela in Argentina. And I did so accepting the reality that we, career officials, are officials of the state. We are not officials of parties or political ideologies,” he said, though he requested early retirement from the foreign service.
“I had several years ahead of me,” he said wistfully.
The country’s serious political and economic crisis has caused a mass exodus; it's estimated that there aremore than 7.7 million Venezuelan migrants and refugees, according to the most recent U.N. figures.
“We have work plans for the economic recovery of the country in its broadest sense. All these programs, projects and programs have been studied in depth," he said, adding that the "only thing missing" is the majority of the vote needed to secure victory on July 28.
He said he aspires to returning relations with the U.S. "to the same level that we had for many years."
"It is illogical that we have now had more than 10 years without formal diplomatic relations, without ambassadors in Caracas and Washington," he said. "That is something inconceivable in these times for two countries that must maintain a fluid relationship as we had."
When asked what his strategy will be after the U.S. presidential election in November, he said that the "rhetoric of confrontation and demonization of the United States is what has led to maintaining this policy of tensions between the two countries," adding the goal is to return to respectful relations between the two countries like in the past.
Tackling migration, democracy — and questions about his age
When asked how he would tackle the repercussions from the departure of millions from Venezuelans in recent years and the issue of migration to the U.S., González Urrutia said the only way to alleviate the tension "is to improve the conditions of poverty that drive thousands of Venezuelans to make the decision to leave. Behind every migrant there is hopelessness and there is poverty."
González Urrutia said he was confident that Maduro's government would allow a democratic transition if he wins the election.
"We consider that the magnitude of our victory will be such that there will be no doubts and it will open a space of understanding for the forces of Democratic Unity," he said. "The figures we have leave no room for any doubt about our victory, and we believe that this will open a space for the government to understand and decide that it must accept the decision of the popular will."
Despite his confidence, some critics doubt his abilities and point to his age as a concern.
"Those are unhealthy criticisms and I have made the decision that, as we say, foolish words, deaf ears — I am not going to give them the pleasure. I am in good health, I exercise regularly, and I am not going to waste my time on anything else."
An earlier version of this article was published in Noticias Telemundo.
Albinson Linares, Noticias Telemundo
