The Miami Herald quotes Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center Deputy Director Jason Marczak on the Venezuelan National Electoral Council’s announcement that at least 40 percent of a party’s candidates must be women, and how this announcement has thrown the opposition into chaos:
“The opposition coalition, shaky in the past, must remain united as vehicle for [public] dissent,” Jason Marczak, Deputy Director of the Atlantic Council Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center said in a statement. “President Maduro’s supporters do not back him as they did [late President Hugo] Chávez, but his forces will not go quietly into the night.”
Venezuela only set the date for the congressional vote this week, amid growing domestic and international pressure. The seeming reluctance to call the election sparked speculation that it might be delayed or not happen at all.