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. AFP reports that the police in the city are using tear gas against the demonstrators. – She will fall. She will fall. This government must fall, shout protesters, reports the AFP news agency. A man helps a woman who has been hit by tear gas. Photo: Cristian Hernandez / AP Image 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 Nicolás 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. Several clashes between the National Guard and demonstrators in the streets of the Venezuelan capital. Photo: Maxwell Briceno / Reuters 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. The National Guard has moved out into the streets as the demonstrations take off in the city. Photo: FEDERICO PARRA / 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. It was Maduro himself who threatened bloodshed if voters did not vote for him before the election. Demonstrators have taken to the streets of the Venezuelan capital Caracas to protest Nicolas Maduro’s election. Photo: RAUL ARBOLEDA / AFP Gain allies again It is not just the opposition that has cast doubt on the election results. 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. Venezuela itself has brought home diplomats from seven countries in the region after they opposed 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. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Argentina also rejects Maduro’s waltziger, Reuters writes. Venezuela has been in a democratic, social, economic and political crisis. On Sunday, many hoped for a change. Photo: Juan Medina / Reuters 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. Norway also asks for openness Norway has had a leading role in the negotiations between Maduro and the opposition in the country since 2019 and was a facilitator for the election. On Dagsnytt18 on Friday, State Secretary Andreas Kravik said that they had hoped that the parties would follow democratic rules in the election and that they were “cautiously optimistic” about how the election would turn out. On Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also calling for an independent verification of the election results. – Full openness is decisive for the credibility and legitimacy of the election. Published 29/07/2024, at 21.22 Updated 29.07.2024, at 23.25
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Protests in Venezuela after Nicolas Maduro’s election – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
