Lula Slammed by Venezuela Opposition Candidate as Sexist

(Bloomberg) -- Venezuela presidential hopeful María Corina Machado fired back at Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva after he suggested she should appoint another candidate to run in her place in this year’s election.

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Comparing Machado’s electoral ban to his own arrest ahead of Brazil’s 2018 contest, Lula said on Wednesday that instead of “crying,” her allies should appoint another candidate to run against President Nicolás Maduro instead — as he did in that race.

“Me crying, President Lula? Do you say this because I am a woman? You don’t know me,” Machado said on X. “I am fighting to assert the right of millions of Venezuelans who voted for me in the primaries and the millions who have the right to do so in a free presidential election in which I will defeat Maduro.”

Read More: Lula Takes Wait-and-See Stance on Fairness of Venezuela Election

Despite Machado’s ban and a lack of credible international observers, Lula urged his global counterparts not to cast doubt on the fairness of Venezuela’s vote, where Maduro is widely expected to run for a third consecutive term.

“You are validating the abuses of an autocrat,” Machado said. “The only truth is that Maduro is afraid to confront me because he knows that the Venezuelan people are in the street with me today.”

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