Protesters in Venezuela took to the streets of Caracas on Wednesday to demonstrate against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. It marked the latest efforts of Maduro’s political opponents, who insist that candidate Edmundo Gonzalez was the true winner of the nation’s recent presidential election.
The protest comes exactly a month after the election, and members of the opposition group are trying to keep alive any hope of overturning Maduro’s win.
Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado have participated in numerous demonstrations since July 28, trying to bring attention to what they claim was a stolen election. Machado, Gonzalez, and the entire opposition group have presented evidence that seems to show Maduro losing by a significant margin, the Associated Press reported. This has helped bring widespread international condemnation, including a statement by the U.S. State Department that was signed by 21 other countries. None of it has helped remove Maduro from power, however.
Given the strength of Maduro’s authoritarian regime in Venezuela, Machado and Gonzalez were forced to go into hiding after July 28 amid concerns for their safety, according to the Associated Press. Both have selectively come out of hiding to participate in demonstrations against the election results, including Wednesday’s protest.
“Those who say the passage of time favors Maduro are wrong,” Machado said during the rally. Throughout the protest, she was transported in a truck with a speaker sound system connected to it. “Every day he’s more isolated, more toxic.”
According to reports, Machado spoke in front of numerous supporters who crowded the streets and chanted “freedom.”
In response to the demonstrations by the opposition group, Maduro and his supporters announced they would also hold rallies on Wednesday, defending the Venezuelan president and his claims of victory. Maduro’s supporters assert he is the rightful winner and that the opposition group is merely dissidents seeking to cause chaos and civil unrest because the election results didn’t go their way, the Associated Press reported.
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Additionally, Maduro has sought to reinforce his power and claims to the presidency by using national security forces to protect him and with political appointments. On Tuesday, he named Diosdado Cabello as the country’s new interior minister to help against Maduro’s opponents and bring order to the country after the fallout from the election. Cabello is known as a “hard-line ruling party boss” who has promised strict rule and a commitment to showing “no mercy” to Maduro’s dissidents, according to the Associated Press.
Maduro’s authoritarianism presents a difficult challenge for Machado to continue her fight and opposition, a political reality she acknowledged. Nevertheless, Machado vowed to continue her efforts, hoping that in some way, a combination of civil unrest in the country and international denouncements and condemnations will prove fruitful for her cause and lead to Maduro’s removal.
