Xinhua

The newspaper La Jornada
Saturday, July 13, 2024, p. 24

Caracas. Electoral campaigns in Venezuela are going ahead without incident in view of the presidential elections on July 28. In the first week of formal campaigning, various mass political mobilizations took place in the most important regions of the country, all of them held peacefully.

President and candidate for re-election, Nicolás Maduro, led rallies in the capital and in several states of the country such as Zulia, Lara, Yaracuy, Miranda, Sucre, Barinas, Táchira, Aragua and Carabobo.

Maduro visited the eastern town of Cumanacoa, severely affected by the hurricane Beryl and announced an increase in state efforts aimed at the full recovery of the town.

Yesterday, from Aragua, he assured that Venezuela is approaching a stage of changes and transformations to lead towards full recovery, happiness, well-being and peacewhile insisting that Without peace it is impossible said recovery.

For his part, the candidate for the Democratic Unity Platform, Edmundo González Urrutia, led demonstrations in Caracas and in the states of Anzoátegui, Barinas and Portuguesa.

González Urrutia met with associations of retirees and pensioners during an event at the Central University of Venezuela, where he stated: We will win a country that respects and supports those who dedicated their entire lives to building it.The other eight presidential candidates, with few opportunities to make a difference in the Venezuelan electoral contest, also attended discreet events with specific sectors.

Venezuela is 15 days away from facing its toughest electoral test in decades. The result could either give Maduro another six years in power or end self-proclaimed socialist policies that once successfully pushed anti-poverty programs.