Venezuela’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro (61) warned of bloodshed if the people did not vote for him on Sunday. Now the warning seems to be coming true. This despite the fact that he himself believes he won with 51 percent, according to the National Electoral Council (CNE), over which Maduro has full control. Security forces used tear gas against the masses in Caracas yesterday. Photo: Cristian Hernandez / AP Because people feel cheated. Maduro is accused of widespread electoral fraud. The international community refuses to recognize his victory. “Hard to believe,” wrote Chile’s president. “I cannot allow my silence to become complicity,” said Panama’s president, temporarily shutting down the entire embassy in the country in protest. Several countries partially follow him. For the first time in many years, there was hope for a regime change in Venezuela. Hope turned to anger when people heard the election results, totally unrecognizable from independent polls. A woman steps on Maduro during a protest against the regime on Tuesday. Photo: Isaac Urrutia / Reuters While the opposition believes their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrita (74), won with 73 percent, the streets were filled with angry people across the country. Today, the military is deployed against the people, an army that has supported the 25-year-old regime for all these years. The generals themselves have received many benefits in the once rich country, with the world’s largest oil reserves. Nicolás gave instructions to the courts yesterday, asking them to act against the opposition. He also deploys the military in all the cities of the country. Photo: Reuters At least eleven people have died, many tens have been injured, 749 have been arrested. In three cities, protesters with sledgehammers smashed statues of Maduro’s predecessor, the late Hugo Chávez. The head was attached to the back of a motorcycle. The demonstrators were met by security police in the streets the day after the election. Maduro has the support of the country’s military. Photo: Samir Aponte / Reuters Wants an end to mass emigration Venezuela has been in a deep economic crisis for many years. At its worst, inflation was over 130,000 percent in 2018. The oil industry was down. Wages are still low, food is in short supply and hospitals are without medicine. Corruption is widespread, political opponents are imprisoned. As many as 7.7 million Venezuelans have left the country. That’s almost one in four. Hard-working parents have left their children with grandparents, who are too frail to restart life abroad. Young people have traveled in the hope of a better future. The largest mass exodus in Latin America has occurred on Nicolás Maduro’s watch. Only Ukraine has a larger migrant flow in the world. When the conservative opposition leader Maria Cornia Machado (56) went to the polls to bring the Venezuelans back home, it was long-awaited and comforting words for many. Edmundo Gonzalez took over as presidential candidate after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was no longer allowed to run. The two campaign together. Photo: Gaby Oraa / Reuters She is very popular and has gathered the people. She knows what it’s like as a mother with three children living abroad. Although she was barred from running for president, her running mate, Edmundo Gonzalez, has been leading Maduro by tens of percentage points in polls. Presidential candidate from the opposition, Edmundo González, is a former ambassador to Argentina. Here during a political meeting in Caracas on 19 June this year. Photo: Ariana Cubillos / AP Closed border crossings Enough is enough, many thought, and stood in long queues to vote on Sunday. But the obstacles were many. The border crossings from neighboring Colombia, which houses almost three million migrants from Venezuela, were closed throughout the election weekend until yesterday. This is where most of the Venezuelan migrants have gone. Out of almost three million, only 7,000 of them could vote in Colombia. The rest had been stopped by bureaucratic tackles. It was also difficult for Venezuelans in the Nordic countries to vote. It was far from easy for Venezuelans abroad to vote. Only one percent qualified. A woman in protest against the regime. Photo: Matias Delacroix / AP Only one percent of the nearly five million eligible Venezuelans outside the country had the opportunity to vote, writes El Pais. Despite several experts saying it was unlikely Maduro would step down voluntarily, these issues have given the opposition hope for a shift: 1. Venezuela has lost international support Venezuela’s allies are dwindling. The country has lost support from countries that have historically stood by its side, such as Colombia and Brazil. When Brazilian President Lula da Silva said he was alarmed by Maduro’s warning of bloodshed and asked him to accept a possible election defeat, Maduro replied that the Brazilian president should drink chamomile tea to calm down. Police forces fire tear gas at the protesters in the capital Caracas yesterday. Photo: Yuri Cortez / AFP Brazil, the US and the EU demand transparency in the results of the presidential election in Venezuela. Seven countries in Latin America joined together on a demand for an independent review of the election results. Venezuela has responded by withdrawing its ambassador from all countries. Back are Venezuela’s allies, who have all congratulated Maduro on his election victory: Russia, China, Cuba, Honduras and Bolivia. Incumbent President Nicolás Maduro at a campaign rally last week. He usually dances wearing sunglasses in front of his followers. Photo: Federico PARRA / AFP 2. The opposition more united than ever Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has done a tremendous job in uniting the opposition. She and presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez have been greeted with cheers wherever they have traveled during the three-week official election campaign. Hundreds of thousands have met them in the streets. An enthusiasm and hope for change is being reported that Venezuelans have not seen in decades. “This is the beginning of the end” of the regime, the opposition politicians believe. Opposition leader Maria Cornia Machado and presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez declared that he is the rightful winner of the elections in Venezuela yesterday. Photo: Cristian Hernandez / AP The opposition’s most important message has been to create a new Venezuela, so that all the migrants can return. Keeping the family together is very important to Venezuelans. On election day, they reported “massive” turnout. 3. Investigating Venezuela for possible human rights violations The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague is investigating Venezuela and Niclas Maduro for possible crimes against humanity. The UN Human Rights Council has already concluded that crimes against humanity have been committed in Venezuela. Four years ago, Nicolás Maduro was wanted by the United States for narco-terrorism, and $15 million was promised for information that could lead to his arrest. Maduro is under investigation by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. People protested against him in Caracas yesterday. Photo: Maxwell Briceno / Reuters 4. Pressure from the US and the international community Pressure against Nicolás Maduro is increasing. The US was early on and accused Venezuela of electoral fraud. The country has also eased sanctions against the Maduro government in exchange for promises of fairer elections. The United States, which has welcomed 800,000 migrants from Venezuela in three years, has a great interest in stabilizing the situation. The Carter Center, which has previously won the Nobel Peace Prize for its work, was present with election observers in the country. The organization today submitted a devastating report, which states that the election is not democratic. The observers had only left the country before the conclusion was published. While the EU withdrew its invitation in May, the UN has also been present. The Organization of American States (OAS), which has 35 member states, said on Tuesday that it cannot recognize the results of the presidential election. Election observers from the Carter Center were on hand during the election on Sunday. But they were far from enough, Jennie Lincoln said on Sunday. Photo: AFP 5. Signed agreement with the opposition In Barbados last year, Venezuela’s government and the opposition signed an agreement on freer elections. Although agreements are often broken, the five-page document is a commitment to holding more democratic elections in Venezuela. The initiative is an attempt to negotiate a solution to the politically deadlocked situation. The agreement has also put international pressure on Venezuela not to disqualify presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez or arrest Maria Cornia Machado. Chief negotiator Dag Nylander (centre) with representatives from the opposition and the government of Venezuela in Barbados last October. Photo: Randy Brooks / AFP It is Norway that has organized these talks over five years. The leader of the negotiations is Dag Nylander, who previously secured the peace agreement between Colombia and the FARC. Published 31.07.2024, at 22.06
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These issues make the election in Venezuela special – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
