- Venezuelan opposition parties and their supporters demonstrated across the country on Thursday in a last-minute attempt to pressure President Nicolas Maduro, one day before he was sworn in for a third six-year term.
- Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela's most popular opposition leader, appeared for the first time since August when she went into hiding in an unknown location.
- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (62 years old) has been in power since 2013.
Venezuelan opposition parties and their supporters – incl Leader Maria Corina MachadoVenezuela, which has been in hiding, demonstrated across the country on Thursday in an 11-hour effort to pressure President Nicolas Maduro, a day before he was sworn in for a third six-year term.
The opposition and the ruling party are locked in an ongoing dispute over the presidential elections that took place last year, which both of them claim to have won.
The country's electoral body and supreme court say Maduro, whose term has been marked by a deep economic and social crisis, won the July election, though they have never published detailed figures.
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The government, which accused the opposition of inciting fascist plots against it, said it would arrest opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez if he returned to the country, and arrested prominent opposition members and activists in the run-up to the inauguration.
The opposition says Gonzalez, 75, won by an overwhelming majority. It has published its own vote numbers as evidence, and has won the support of governments around the world, including the United States, which considers Gonzalez the president-elect.
Machado, who is the country's most popular opposition leader but has been barred from running in 2024, joined a protest in Chacao, east of Caracas, at around 2:20pm local time (18:20 GMT), wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans. Waving the Venezuelan flag from the top of a truck.
A Venezuelan opposition supporter reacts as he gathers with fellow supporters before the inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 9, 2025. (Reuters/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)
“They lost the streets, which are ours, and barricaded themselves in Miraflores (the presidential palace),” Machado told the crowd. “From today we are in a new phase.”
Her appearance was her first public appearance since August when she went into hiding at an unknown location.
Machado, 57, urged demonstrators to take to the streets peacefully and repeatedly asked police and military personnel – who guarded polling stations during the election – to support Gonzalez's victory.
“I'm not afraid, I lost my fear a long time ago,” said Angelis Bayares, 70, a retired central bank employee, as she gathered with other opposition supporters in western Caracas in the morning.
She added: “We do not know how many of them stand with us,” referring to the security forces that gathered near the protest.
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Reuters witnesses estimated that about seven thousand people had gathered in Caracas by 2:20 p.m. local time. In the days following the election, thousands also took to the streets.
Maduro (62 years old) takes power Since 2013. It has great support from the leaders of the armed forces and the intelligence services, which are run by close allies of the powerful Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.
“I am convinced that nothing will happen,” Capello told state television on Monday. “But that doesn't mean we'll lower our guard.”
The military's financial interests make shifts in loyalty unlikely, London-based investment bank Bank Trust said in a note. “A limited military insurgency carries significant risks for its participants, reducing incentives to participate,” she wrote.
“We have no work”
Security forces set up checkpoints across the country.
In the western oil city of Maracaibo, security forces riding motorcycles quickly dispersed an opposition protest attended by dozens of people by late morning. In central Valencia, demonstrators gathered elsewhere after initially being met with tear gas.
Opposition supporters also gathered in San Cristobal, near the border with Colombia, in the western city of Barquisimeto and in eastern Puerto Ordaz.
“I am here because we need to get rid of this government,” said housewife Ruiza Gomez, 62, during a protest in the central city of Maracay. “We have no money and no work.” “I'm fighting for the vote I cast for Edmundo Gonzalez. They can't steal the election.”
Shortly after, security forces used tear gas to disperse demonstrators in Maracay.
Many of the protesters were of retirement age and said they wanted change so their immigrant children and grandchildren could return to the country. more than 7 million Venezuelans live abroad.
The ruling party organized competing rallies across the country, and state television broadcast images of them.
He added, “We came to show that there is democracy. On this side there are patriots who will take the oath with Nicolas (Maduro), and on the other side there are fascists who want (foreign) intervention, and war, to sell their country.” said Manuel Rincon, a 50-year-old Caracas motorcyclist.
Gonzalez, who toured the Americas this week and met with US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump's national security adviser, has repeatedly pledged to return to Venezuela but has not provided details on how.
An arrest warrant was issued for Gonzalez on charges of alleged conspiracy, prompting him to travel to Spain in September.
Machado is being investigated by the public prosecutor in at least two cases, but no arrest warrant has been announced for her.
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The government arrested several prominent politicians and activists, including a former presidential candidate. The prosecutor's office said this week that it had released more than 1,500 of the 2,000 people, including teenagers, arrested during the post-election protests.
Venezuelans living abroad also held protests, including in Madrid, where Gonzalez's daughter, Carolina Gonzalez, spoke to hundreds of demonstrators.
“My father hugs you all,” she said, her voice breaking. “Glory to the brave people of Venezuela.”
