Venezuela's last-minute opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez seeks dialogue

By Mayela Armas

CARACAS (Reuters) - The charged atmosphere around the campaign for Venezuela's presidency - marred by arrests and accusations of conspiracy and sabotage - does not seem like a hospitable environment for a presidential candidate advocating peaceful dialogue.

Yet, Edmundo Gonzalez, the 74-year-old former diplomat chosen in April by the opposition, has attracted significant support, drawing crowds of thousands as he challenges President Nicolas Maduro, who is seeking reelection for the second time.

Gonzalez was almost an unknown when he became the opposition alliance's last-minute candidate after Maria Corina Machado, the winner of its October primary, was barred from public office over alleged fraud, which she denies.

Gonzalez served as ambassador to Argentina between 1999 and 2002, when Maduro's mentor Hugo Chavez was in power, and is known for using a diplomatic tone in his short speeches.

He has urged a peaceful democratic transition, asking the military to uphold the country's institutions.

In his first campaign appearance in May, Gonzalez said he wants to build a country "where the president does not insult. A country where everyone belongs, leaving confrontation behind."

The rhetoric contrasts with Maduro, who warned this week that there could be a "bloodbath" if he loses and has called Gonzalez a puppet of the United States.

Gonzalez, a husband and father of two, has benefited from a swell of word-of-mouth support for Machado, who has continued to campaign on his behalf around the country.

Both Gonzalez and Machado have appealed to Venezuelan voters' emotions, telling their supporters that a change in government could motivate some of the more than 7.7 million migrants who have left the country to return.

The opposition has warned that decisions by electoral authorities - from polling station staffing to the lay-out of the ballot - have been made with the intention of confusing voters and creating obstacles to a free election.

Gonzalez could still be hit with an eleventh-hour ban, political analysts have warned, or face obstacles taking office if he were to win.

Maduro, whose re-election in 2018 is considered fraudulent by many Western countries, says the electoral system is the world's most transparent. No-one in Venezuela has been prosecuted for their political opinion, the attorney general told Reuters this week.

Arriving at campaign events escorted by supporters on motorcycles and in cars, Gonzalez has promised improved salaries and public services if he wins. He often mentions the effect high inflation has had on his own foreign ministry pension.

He brings his own lunch on the campaign trail, saying in a video on social media he wants to prevent any businesses that he patronizes being shut down.

Several restaurants where Gonzalez and Machado have stopped have later been shuttered, as have some hotels. Contractors at a sound equipment business were detained.

(Reporting by Mayela Armas in Caracas, writing by Stéphanie Hamel; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)