Opposition leaders and thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets on Saturday once again defying the oppression of the regime of Nicolás Maduro and calling for peaceful regime change following the disputed elections of July 28th.
While Maduro has claimed a narrow victory over the opposition, international observers have cited irregularities and lack of transparency in the elections. Meanwhile, the opposition has shown that, according to tallies collected officially from the country’s electronic voting machines, their candidate, Edmundo González, garnered 70% of the vote.
Since the election, approximately 2,000 anti-Maduro demonstrators have been arrested.
Nevertheless, the streets of Carácas were filled with protestors again on Saturday, joined by opposition leader María Corina Machado, who appeared in public again, despite threats from the Maduro regime to arrest her.
Venezuelan émigrés—who have left their country by the millions in the last decade to escape poverty, insecurity, and political oppression—also joined their compatriots by protesting against Maduro in 350 cities around the world.
The opposition in Venezuela knows it must keep up the pressure on the Maduro regime to force a peaceful transition. González and Machado have repeatedly promised Maduro guarantees to allow him to leave the country safely with his family and not to seek vengeance against those from his regime who remain in the country.
Machado has promised to see the political process through to the end. “Today we are feeling the strength of a brave people,” she told the crowds.
“We are not going to leave the streets,” she said, adding that they must act with prudence and intelligence as they demand the recognition of González as president-elect.
In Madrid, thousands of pro-opposition demonstrators filled the Puerta del Sol square to show their support for González and call for a peaceful transition in Venezuela. They were joined by the president of the Madrid region, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who said that Spain had the “historical and moral duty” to support “freedom, life, and democracy” in Venezuela.
Lorent Saleh, a Venezuelan opposition leader now living in Spain, has also warned that Maduro will likely use his intelligence services to oppress his opposition abroad. The current socialist-led Spanish government has been criticized for its close ties with the Maduro regime.
