Venezuela’s Primary Elections: What To Expect?
On Sunday, February 12, 2012, Venezuela held a primary election aimed at defining a single candidate to oppose President Hugo Chávez in presidential elections scheduled for October 7. Venezuela’s fractious opposition has come together in the Mesa de Unidad Democrática (Democratic Unity Table, or MUD) to enhance its chances of unseating Chávez, who faces unprecedented economic, security, and health challenges. Opposition candidates contending in the primary include current front-runner Henrique Capriles Radonski, governor of the state of Miranda (Primero Justicia; Capriles was endorsed last week by Leopoldo López, former mayor of Chacao, following his withdrawal from the race); Pablo Pérez, governor of Zulia state (Un Nuevo Tiempo); and Congresswoman María Corina Machado (former director of the civic organization Súmate).
Watch an interview to Luis Vicente León and William Luers here.
Event Sponsors
Speakers
Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia
Adjunct Professor at The School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Hosted By
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more