14ymedio/EFE, Havana/Caracas, August 3, 2024 — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado left her hiding place this Saturday, where she had been for security reasons after President Nicolás Maduro threatened the leaders of the opposition with prison.
Machado reappeared standing on a truck that traveled the streets of a neighborhood in the capital, until she reached the demonstration called by the opposition to repudiate the electoral fraud and violence on the part of Maduro, who insists on declaring himself the winner in the July 28 elections.
In her first statements, Machado reiterated the triumph of the opposition and maintained that it had never “been as strong as today,” nor “has the regime ever been so weak,” while facing a crowd gathered on Avenida Principal de Las Mercedes. “We knew that, just as it took us a long time to achieve the electoral victory, we are now entering a new stage that we live day by day,” she added.
She said she was very grateful to all the presidents of Latin America “who have recognized the civic and massive character of the vote on July 28.” In that sense, she stressed that now “these countries and these governments have a great responsibility to maintain the civic and peaceful character of the mobilization.” And she asked them to “make the regime understand that the time for the democratic transition has come, that we are willing to negotiate and give guarantees so that it will be in an orderly, sustainable and peaceful way.”
Después de 6 días de brutal represión, creyeron que nos iban a callar, a parar o atemorizar… miren la respuesta.
Hoy, la presencia de que cada ciudadano en las calles de Venezuela demuestra la magnitud de la fuerza cívica que tenemos y la determinación de llegar hasta el… pic.twitter.com/O8u4EDcsSR
— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) August 3, 2024
Machado arrived at the demonstration that took place in the east of Caracas, along with the anti-chavistas Delsa Solórzano, Juan Pablo Guanipa, María Beatriz Martínez, Biagio Pilieri and Williams Dávila. They are all members of parties that make up the largest anti-chavista coalition, the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD). However, so far the presence of the coalition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, who obtained 70% of the votes according to the ballots compiled by the opposition, has not been confirmed.
“We knew that, just as it took us a long time to achieve the electoral victory, we are now entering a new stage that we live day by day,” said Machado
Thousands of participants shouting “Freedom!”greeted the opposition leaders, led by Machado, after they said that they fear for their lives. In parallel, a caravan of motorized vehicles in support of Maduro rolled from Petare to the center of Caracas.
The protests began in Caracas normally and without notable incidents, despite the large influx of people, both on foot and by motorcycle. The protests have been replicated in the main cities of the country, where, as in the Venezuelan capital, thousands of demonstrators met peacefully and sang the country’s national anthem. Demonstrations are also reported in support of the opposition in other cities around the world such as Bogotá, Madrid and Washington.
In the last few hours, the victory of the opposition candidate has been recognized by seven countries on the continent. In addition, a group of American congressmen presented a resolution on Friday in which they recognize González Urrutia as the legitimate president-elect of Venezuela. The United States also expressed its “solidarity with the Venezuelan people” and condemned the fraud of Nicolás Maduro, who is accused of wanting to “steal the elections” in an attempt to perpetuate himself in power for a third consecutive period.
Demonstrations in support of the opposition are also reported in other cities around the world such as Bogotá, Madrid and Washington
The resolution, signed by Democrats and Republicans, denounces the violent repression that protesters have suffered “for democracy” in recent days. According to the count of the independent Venezuelan press, there have now been 20 killed by firearms at the hands of the regime, which has deployed the National Guard, the Police and the so-called “chavista collectives” in the streets, a kind of rapid-response brigade made up of armed civilians.
The document also advocates new sanctions from the United States Government, headed by President Joe Biden, and greater pressure from the international sphere for Maduro to “accept the will of the Venezuelan people and allow a peaceful transition of power.”
They warned that the United States must strengthen the measures against Maduro, since he is “closely allied” with all of Washington’s “adversaries”
The initiative was promoted by Florida congressional members Mario Díaz-Balart, of the Republican Party, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat. Both jointly chair the Congressional Committee in favor of Democracy in Venezuela.
“Despite the dominance of Maduro’s totalitarian regime, the Venezuelan people refuse to allow democracy to die. Now more than ever, the United States must strengthen the measures against the dangerous Maduro regime, which is closely allied with all the adversaries of the United States who work against our national security interests,” Díaz-Balart said.
Wasserman Schultz said that on Sunday Venezuelans “valiantly” went to the polls to look for “a true and legitimate representation” after “a decade lost under Maduro,” who has governed the country since 2011, after the death of Hugo Chávez.
The congresswoman regretted that, however, the “brutal narco-regimen” refuses to face reality, despite the clear evidence that demonstrates Maduro’s defeat. The opposition has uploaded the electoral results to the internet, so that anyone can consult them. “Now we have to put pressure on Maduro and his thugs to respect the will of the Venezuelan people or face the consequences,” she added.
The opposition, which has in María Corina Machado a moral leader, continues to receive international support, after several countries, including Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Costa Rica also recognized Gonzalez Urrutia as the winner of the elections.
For his part, the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, held a call with González Urrutia and Machado this Friday, on the eve of the national protest. Blinken congratulated the standard-bearer of the Democratic United Platform (PUD) for having “received the majority of the votes” and expressed his concern about the “security and well-being” of both him and Machado.
Blinken expressed his concern about the “security and well-being” of both González Urrutia and Machado on the eve of the national protest
Blinken’s call comes on the same day that Machado’s party, Vente Venezuela, denounced a “robbery” of its headquarters during the early hours of the morning, with six armed men, who “subdued” the guards and took equipment and documents. This happened precisely one day after the opposition leader published an article in the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, where she said she feared for her life. “They might capture me while I’m writing these words,” she wrote.
Through his social networks, González Urrutia called to respond with “hope, harmony and peace” to the “attacks of the regime” of Nicolás Maduro, who accused them of planning an “attack” this Saturday to “destabilize” the country during the national protest they have called in rejection of the result of the elections announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE) this Friday.
“We are in very difficult times, and we can, and must, have the serenity to respond to those attacks with the firmness and hope of a better future,” he said this Friday in a video posted on his Instagram account.
It was through the state channel VTV that Maduro pointed out: “I really thought about it, because we could be revealing a source of information that we have been working on from groups of criminals of the comanditos [little commanders, a pejorative], as they call the political organization groups of the opposition. Some of these groups of comanditos, armed with grenades and other weapons, intend to carry out an attack tomorrow in the area of Bello Monte (in Caracas).”
This came after the CNE, owned by the regime, said again on Friday that the ruling party obtained 51.9% of the vote without presenting evidence. So now, when the election results tallied by the Maduro Government have still not been delivered, fraud in the presidential election is more than a suspicion.
Gutiérrez Urrutia, through a statement, reiterated that the electoral body has the duty to “guarantee the transparency and reliability” of its processes, so he hopes they will “comply with the constitutional and legal obligation to publish the results of the scrutiny, the totals and the audits.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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