The Venezuelan opposition has maintained its pulse on the streets this Wednesday in a climate of entrenchment and repression by Chavismo. One month after the presidential elections of July 28, the followers of María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia have mobilized once again to show that, despite the police and judicial siege activated by the Government of Nicolás Maduro, they refuse to retreat and resign. The slogan of the call, “A record kills a sentence”, summarized the spirit of their claim, in reference to the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice that validated the results announced by the National Electoral Council. Data that grant victory to Maduro, but tainted by suspicions of fraud, since the authorities refuse to show them despite the fact that the records collected and published by the opposition affirm the contrary.
The rally comes at a time when Chavismo, which has also called on its militants to march to claim victory, is trying to further encircle the opposition leadership. After the march, the arrest of one of María Corina Machado’s closest allies in recent months, Biagio Pilieri, was denounced, as was the persecution of Juan Pablo Guanipa, another leader who has appeared alongside Machado since July 28. In addition, in the previous days, Perkins Rocha, a lawyer and close collaborator of the opposition leader, was also arrested.
Around a thousand people gathered on Francisco de Miranda Avenue in Caracas, in the municipality of Chacao, far fewer than in previous demonstrations, but which, nevertheless, represent a significant gathering amid the fear and wave of arrests in recent weeks. Machado, harassed by a strong police presence, joined the march and addressed her followers. “With a napkin, the government expects the world to recognize this farce,” she said from the truck that has served as a platform, referring to the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) ruling. “It backfired on them, because they believed that with this decision, which cannot even be called a ruling, they were going to deceive some countries.”
The opposition leader said that her movement has made progress in a month with the support of democratic countries. “In this month, we turned the cause for freedom in Venezuela into a world cause, into a global cause. Not a single democratic government in the world has recognized Maduro’s fraud. Not one. This is incredible.”
Machado has also used the word resistance to describe the period following the elections. “We have to take care of ourselves in order to finish our task,” she shouted to her followers. After the truck she used during the campaign and the rallies was confiscated by the police two weeks ago, following an event in Caracas, the leader did not tour the city before arriving at the rally a month before the vote.
Among those present was one of the leaders of Vente Venezuela —María Corina Machado’s party— in El Valle, who recalled that it was also a month since the murder of two young people from his community by armed government shock groups, two of the 24 dead left by the repression of protests against the election results. “I came without a flag or anything, I hardly leave the house because I am being persecuted and threatened,” said the 78-year-old man. Another of those present was Arnoldo Benítez, 71, an educator and leader of the left-wing party La Causa R, through which he has fought for the rights of retirees. “Here we are afraid, but we are in resistance,” said the man with a sign with copies of the voting records. He hopes that by January 10, 2025, when the handover of power in the Presidency is established, González Urrutia will be able to reach Miraflores.
“Today we are here not to support María Corina, but to support ourselves, who must be here together defending what we voted for on July 28,” says María José de Castro, a 61-year-old baker who says she is now dedicated to the democratic struggle. That is why she carried a banner that read: “We are not the opposition, we are the government.” During the 2017 demonstrations, she recalls, she stood in front of a tank to prevent it from advancing against the people who were protesting, then against the Supreme Court’s measure to annul the functioning of Parliament that the opposition had won in the elections. “We are in the hardest stage because they do not want to give up. We have to go out on the streets no matter what. I am not afraid.”
Opposition leader María Corina Machado appeared alongside other opposition members at the rally called one month before the presidential elections on July 28. In a van, and accompanied by Delsa Solórzano, Juan Pablo Guanipa and other leaders, she went to Francisco de Miranda Avenue in the Venezuelan capital. The former opposition candidate, Edmundo González, did not attend the march. Since the first large rally after the elections, on July 30, the diplomat has not been seen in public again. This week he was summoned twice by the Prosecutor’s Office on charges of conspiracy, among others.
However, González has also addressed the country with a message on his X account. “Venezuelans, we are making history. A month ago we demonstrated that sovereignty resides untransferably in our vote. We have made clear to the world the truth of what happened: the Venezuelan people triumphed overwhelmingly!” he says. He also speaks of the cost that these last few weeks have had for the democratic sectors of the country. “I know that these last 30 days have been hard, but they have also been a test of our unity and determination. Every day that passes, our voice grows stronger and our fight, firmer. Venezuelans decided to change in peace and live better, we will make sure that their will is respected. We will achieve an orderly transition, in peace and with guarantees for all, because the truth will prevail.”
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