Meet the 80-Year-Old Grandmother Who’s Taking On Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro

MSN ^ | 3/25 | Juan Forero

[nickcarraway]

She hasn’t ever held a public post or campaigned for office.

But 80-year-old Corina Yoris, a widow and grandmother to seven children, had been plucked out of her quiet life in academia, one of scholarly tomes on philosophy and classes on Venezuela’s 1940s-era history, to challenge that country’s strongman in July’s presidential election—if she isn’t banned from participating first.

Marriage Therapy & Counseling - Alma: High Quality Teletherapy secure.helloalma.com/Marriage/therapy Marriage Therapy & Counseling - Alma: High Quality Teletherapy Ad “It’s totally surreal because I’ve dedicated my life to academia, to the university life,” Yoris told The Wall Street Journal. “Aspirations of becoming president of the republic have never passed through my head.”

But with Maria Corina Machado, the opposition politician Venezuelan voters chose to challenge Nicolás Maduro banned from office, 10 opposition parties supported Yoris to run against Maduro. The selection of Yoris—announced Friday, surprising much of the country and the international community that backs the opposition—is seen by many analysts as a masterstroke.

[nickcarraway]

How much could the price of oil go down, if Venezuela had a functional government?

[desertsolitaire]

What would improve in the lives of Venezuelans if we installed a caretaker government pending enough stability for free elections and used their oil revenues to form a capitalist market driven economy to enrich their people and encourage entrepreneurs?