The Maduro regime is disrupting the opposition’s efforts before Venezuela’s election

Venezuela’s opposition are holding a primary to elect the candidate who will take on President Nicolas Maduro in next year’s elections. The Maduro government is not making campaigning or voting easy.

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Opposition leaders in Venezuela are gearing up for next year’s presidential election. They hope to oust Nicolas Maduro, the country’s autocratic leader. To decide which candidate will take on Maduro, the opposition is holding a primary on Sunday. Reporter John Otis has more.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking Spanish).

JOHN OTIS, BYLINE: In the city of Maracaibo in western Venezuela, political activists are trying to drum up support for the primary. The voting is designed to unify the country’s divided opposition behind a single candidate who will be strong enough to defeat President Maduro.

ELIMAR DIAZ: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: One activist, Elimar Diaz, tells a neighborhood meeting that voting for one of the 12 candidates on the primary ballot is a vital first step towards recovering freedom and democracy. Indeed, the Maduro regime has cracked down on Venezuela’s democracy, crushing protests, jailing dissidents and muzzling the press. Maduro has also led Venezuela into its worst economic crisis in history, prompting nearly 8 million Venezuelans to flee the country. But in the run-up to Sunday’s vote, the Maduro regime has thrown up numerous roadblocks.

JAVIER CORRALES: They’re trying a bunch of strategies to ensure that the whole thing unravels.

OTIS: That’s Javier Corrales, a Venezuela expert at Amherst College. He points out that the opposition will not be allowed to use the country’s polling stations, usually located in public schools. Instead, the opposition must scramble to set up ad hoc voting centers in private homes, parks and playgrounds.

So this is a neighborhood basketball court, and kids are playing here. But on the day of the primary, it’s going to turn into a polling place.

However,…