Venezuela's Most Powerful Businessman Could Run for President

Lorenzo Mendoza, the most powerful businessperson in Venezuela, appears to be interested in running for president in 2019, a report from Argentina's C5N revealed Thursday.

ANALYSIS:
Economic War on Venezuela: Key Food Maker Cuts Production

Speaking with host Victor Hugo Morales, Argentine journalist Pedro Brieger called Mendoza the “Venezuelan Trump,” linking him with other business leaders who want to make a leap into politics as Trump and several others in Latin America have done.

Mendoza is the head of the Polar Company, which virtually dominates the entire food production and distribution system in Venezuela. He and the government of Nicolas Maduro have butted heads over Polar's reduced production that has led to shortages of key food staples.

A recent investigation found that key products produced by Polar experienced an unexplained and significant drop in production.

Brieger said that the drops in production coincide with political moments in the country.

“In 2013, during (presidential) elections, production fell by 40 percent. In 2014, in the context of the movement to overthrow Nicolas Maduro, it fell by 34 percent, and in the elections last year in December last year, it fell by 37 percent,” said Brieger, who compared it to efforts to sabotage the socialist government of Salvador Allende in Chile.

ANALYSIS:
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The government accuses firms like the Polar Company of deliberately reducing production in order to harm the government's image and cause discontent among the population.

Mendoza has previously claimed that he is not with the country's political opposition but he has been seen at recent opposition demonstrations calling for the ouster of Maduro.

He has been increasingly critical of the government, despite ongoing dialogue with the opposition. Mendoza blames the government for work stoppages at Polar's factories due to an alleged lack of raw materials.

It is unclear if Mendoza were to run if he would join the opposition coalition known as the MUD. The coalition is already deeply divided, with various factions competing for power. Mendoza's political ambitions would likely serve to further divide the MUD.