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SALT LAKE CITY — Venezuelan nationals living in Utah will have the opportunity to participate from abroad in the country's upcoming opposition primaries this Sunday.
The primaries were up in the air until Tuesday, when Venezuela's government and opposition reached an agreement on new electoral conditions that include allowing European Union officials to observe the process and creating a process to lift bans that have blocked top opposition candidates from running.
Salt Lake City is among 87 cities across 80 countries that will host voting centers where Venezuelans can cast their vote for an opposition candidate to face President Nicolás Maduro in the 2024 general elections.
About 20% of Venezuelans, or 7.3 million people, have fled the country due to humanitarian, political and economic turmoil. An estimated 10,400 live in Utah.
Those wishing to participate in Sunday's primaries must have either registered on the National Primary Commission website between June 7 and July 10, or be registered to vote abroad in the official Venezuelan Electoral Register in their country of residence. Voters must present a current or expired Venezuelan ID or passport.
Next year's presidential elections will be Maduro's attempt at a third six-year term. His regime has been characterized by extensive repression and attempts to silence political opposition and cement his power indefinitely. The agreement is the latest development in the country's ongoing political crisis, which has caused a widespread deterioration of Venezuelans' trust in the electoral process.
For a number of Venezuelans, that distrust is reason enough to persuade them against participating in Sunday's primaries.
"They're being very diligent in trying to put lipstick on a pig pretty much. It's a regime that has kidnapped, maimed and killed opposition figures for threatening leadership figures. There are some desaparecidos (missing persons) still," said Venezuelan immigrant and Utahn Gonzalo Peña.
Peña, who previously worked with the United Nations and studied diplomacy and international relations, said while he agrees with current efforts to negotiate free and fair elections, he is still skeptical of the upcoming elections because Venezuela has barred top opposition candidates from running. Peña said he will not vote in the primaries but might be persuaded to do so if negotiations result in Venezuela lifting those bars.
Venezuelan government officials and the opposition were in Barbados this week to negotiate an agreement regarding the upcoming elections. The agreement could impact bans on opposition candidates, but it does not spell out a clear path for candidates to overcome a ban.
Geoff Ramsey, a senior analyst on Venezuela at the Atlantic Council think tank, told the Associated Press the agreement "forces the regime to crack open a window," but leaves it up to the opposition "to pry that window all the way open" with the assistance of the international community. The deal will also mean a relief from U.S. energy sanctions on the Maduro administration, the AP reported.
Despite the perhaps bleak outlook on the elections, Peña said he has more hope for his country than he has in past years — even if he doesn't believe change will happen immediately.
"It seems like the Venezuelan migration as well as many other economic factors and the inability to pretty much blame everything on the United States — I think that has put the Venezuelan government in a different light. I think that's one of the reasons why they're willing to negotiate at the moment," he said.
