Moro invites Venezuelan opposition leader to Senate session

The senator for União Brasil in Paraná, Sérgio Moro, invited the leader of the opposition in Venezuela, María Corina Machado, to participate virtually in a session of the Senate Public Security Commission on September 12th. In a publication made this Friday (8) on the social network X, formerly Twitter, Moro said that he asked Itamaraty for help so that the Venezuelan could attend the session, but was unsuccessful.

“We will hear, by videoconference, in the Security Commission of the Senate, the leader of the presidential race in Venezuela María Corina Machado. We are against dictators in Latin America. All Democrats are invited. Corina will not be able to come in person as she is illegally prohibited from leaving the country by the tyrant of Caracas”, posted mororecalling a decision taken by Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorship to ban Machado from leaving Venezuela.

In response, the leader of the Venezuelan opposition thanked the invitation and said that the democratic forces of Brazil are supporting the people of that country. “I know that the Brazilian people are with us, hopeful and dreaming of this opportunity that we have to bring about change. The liberation of Venezuela will have a huge impact on the entire region,” said Machado.

Venezuelan opposition leader is favorite in dispute against Maduro

The former congresswoman is the big favorite to win not only the Venezuelan opposition primaries, which will be held on October 22, but also to defeat dictator Nicolás Maduro in the 2024 presidential election. According to a survey by consultancy ORC, Machado is 68 % of voting intentions for opposition primaries. Second place, Henrique Capriles, would have only 7.3%. In a simulation for a confrontation with Maduro, the former deputy would have 47.2% of the votes, against only 13.5% for the Venezuelan dictator.

The fairness of Venezuela’s electoral process has also attracted the attention of US politicians. Twenty senators from the Democratic and Republican parties sent a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in August expressing concern about the opposition’s primary elections, scheduled for October 22.

In the letter, the senators stated that the “Venezuelan people cannot endure another fraudulent election, which would only result in more suffering for the nation and increase instability in the Americas.” They also noted that, “despite presidential elections scheduled for 2024, the Maduro regime is already undermining the prospects for a credible vote.”