Eric Farnsworth on NPR regarding Venezuela's Presidential Election
Eric Farnsworth on NPR regarding Venezuela's Presidential Election
"It's a fundamental mistake that plays into the regime's own interest," says AS/COA's vice president on opposition leader María Corina Machado's exit.
On NPR's Morning Edition program, AS/COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth spoke with John Otis about the latest developments in Venezuela's July 28 presidential election. The segment covered the opposition's unity around a proxy candidate following the Nicolás Maduro regime's barring of their initial proposed candidate, María Corina Machado.
Otis said that President Maduro is deeply unpopular for leading Venezuela into its worst economic crisis in history. He also noted that polls show that in a free election, opposition leader Machado, a former congresswoman, would trounce Maduro.
However, Venezuela's opposition has united around a proxy candidate amid an ongoing repression of Machado by the government. Machado announced on Friday that Corina Yoris, a respected philosophy professor, would take her place as the opposition's main presidential candidate.
Otis said that some are disappointed that Machado, Venezuela's most popular politician, pulled out of the race.
"It's a fundamental mistake that plays into the regime's own interests," Farnsworth told Otis. "[The opposition is] not going to get a different result even if you have a different candidate. The regime will not lose this election."
