The citizens of Venezuela started the week with the news that Nicolás Maduro claimed that he had won the presidential election in the country. Maduro has ruled Venezuela since 2013, and is not popular with many. The declaration of victory has made many disappointed, despondent and angry. The demonstrators have taken to the streets and are rattling saucepans. It is a tradition in Latin America. Photo: YURI CORTEZ / AFP On Monday afternoon local time, protests broke out in the capital Caracas. – She will fall. She will fall. This government must fall, shout protesters, reports the AFP news agency. Picture shows protesters with saucepans in their hands being met by security forces. Maduro and the Socialist Party claimed to have won the election with a narrow majority on Sunday. The opposition does not believe in that. Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro have taken to the streets. Photo: RAUL ARBOLEDA / AFP Not something you have seen before – This is something we have not seen before, that it is the poor who go out against the president and want their voices to be heard, says Benedicte Bull, political scientist with a focus on Latin -America. She says the situation in the country is very uncertain with both internal and international pressure. Photo: RAUL ARBOLEDA / AFP The protests in the country can of course result in the use of military force, but Bull believes that is the last thing Maduro should do now. – The president needs legitimacy both internally and internationally in order to lift sanctions and to attract more international investment. Demonstrators have taken to the streets of the Venezuelan capital Caracas to protest Nicolas Maduro’s election. Photo: YURI CORTEZ / AFP On Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres asked all parties to refrain from violence: – The Secretary-General has confidence that all disagreements about the election will be addressed and resolved peacefully. He is asking all Venezuelan leaders and their supporters to exercise restraint, Guterres’ spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said. Casting doubt on the result It is not just the opposition that has cast doubt on the election result. It also has several of Venezuela’s neighboring countries and the United States. The administration of Joe Biden, the president of the United States, has said that manipulation of the election results has removed “all credibility” from Maduro’s victory declaration, according to Reuters. Nine South American presidencies are asking for a full review of the election results. – Maduro is left with quite a few allies, which are Russia and China and a small handful of Latin American countries, says Bull. Both Panama and Peru have recalled their ambassadors from Venezuela and cut diplomatic ties with the country. Photo: Juan Medina / Reuters The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Argentina also rejects the election of Maduro, Reuters writes. Venezuela has been in a deep economic and political crisis for around ten years. The country is struggling with hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine. Almost 8 million Venezuelans have left the country since 2015. Published 29/07/2024, at 21.22 Updated 29.07.2024, at 22.05
ttn-69
Protests in Venezuela after Nicolas Maduro’s election – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
