Venezuela’s opposition leader on Saturday emerged from hiding, saying: “We have never been so strong,” as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro slammed what he called attempts to “usurp the presidency” following last week’s disputed election.
Thousands gathered peacefully across Venezuela, including in the capital, Caracas, where Maria Corina Machado thrilled supporters with a surprise appearance in a truck bearing a banner reading “Venezuela has won.”
Machado, who spent much of the week in hiding after Maduro threatened her with arrest following deadly post-election protests, had backed the candidacy of Edmundo Gonzalez after she herself was banned from running.
Photo: AFP
Supporters say he won 67 percent of the July 28 vote, and several Latin American countries and the US have recognized him as president-elect.
Others have called on Venezuela to release detailed vote tallies, including EU states France, Germany, Italy and Spain, who on Saturday noted their “strong concern” about the results.
Brazil, Colombia and Mexico — which have maintained good relations with Maduro’s government — urged an “impartial verification” of the result.
“We have never been so strong as today,” Machado told the crowd. “The regime has never been weaker.”
“We are not going to leave the streets,” she said, surrounded by security.
Gonzalez was not seen publicly on Saturday.
Backers cried out “Freedom” as Machado’s truck passed by.
“Seeing her gives me hope, despite the threats. She is a light for Venezuela,” 26-year-old shopkeeper Adrian Pacheco said.
The Venezuelan National Electoral Council, which is loyal to Maduro, on Friday proclaimed him the winner with 52 percent of the vote to 43 percent for Gonzalez, a result that defied pre-election polls.
Thousands of Maduro supporters on Saturday afternoon responded to his call for “the mother of all marches,” gathering in central Caracas to march to the presidential palace in the name of “national peace.”
“We will not accept” the opposition’s claims of victory and moves to “usurp the presidency of the republic again,” Maduro said at the rally.
Venezuela emigres in cities across the Americas also protested against Maduro and his claims of victory in the election.
“We don’t want violence, we just want him to leave, we only want peace,” 43-year-old Maudie Lopez, a crafts worker, said in Colombia’s capital, Bogota, where hundreds joined in song and prayer.
“I want to return to my country,” Lopez said.
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