Thousands of Venezuelan opposition supporters took to the streets ahead of Maduro’s third inauguration

• Venezuela’s opposition parties and their supporters staged last-minute protests across the country in an attempt to pressure President Nicolas Maduro a day before he is due to be sworn in for his third six-year term.
• Maria Karina Machado, Venezuela’s most popular opposition leader, has appeared for the first time since August, when she went into hiding in an undisclosed location.
• The 62-year-old president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, has been in power since 2013.

Venezuelan opposition parties and their supporters – including leader Maria Karina Machadowho has been in hiding – protested across the country on Thursday in an attempt to pressure President Nicolas Maduro a day before he is sworn in for a third six-year term.

The opposition and the ruling party are in an ongoing dispute over last year’s presidential election, which they both claim to have won.

The country’s electoral authorities and top court say Maduro, whose tenure has been marked by a deep economic and social crisis, won the July election, though they have never released detailed tallies.

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The government, which has accused the opposition of fomenting fascist plots against it, said it would arrest opposition leader Edmund Gonzalez when he returns to the country and detained prominent opposition members and activists ahead of the inauguration.

The opposition says Gonzalez, 75, won in a landslide. He released his own vote tallies as proof, gaining the support of governments around the world, including the United States, which sees Gonzalez as president-elect.

Machado, who is the country’s most popular opposition leader but has been barred from running for office in 2024, joined the protest in Chacao in eastern Caracas around 2:20 p.m. local time (6:20 p.m. GMT) wearing a white shirt and blue jeans. and waving a Venezuelan flag on top of the truck.

“They lost the streets that belong to us, they barricaded themselves in Miraflores (the presidential palace),” Machado told the crowd. “As of today, we are in a new phase.”

Her appearance marked her first public appearance since August, when she went into hiding in an undisclosed location.

Machado, 57, called on protesters to flood the streets peacefully and repeatedly asked police and military personnel guarding polling stations during the election to support Gonzalez’s victory.

“I’m not afraid, I lost my fear a long time ago,” Neglis Payares, 70, a retired central bank employee, said as she gathered with other opposition supporters in western Caracas this morning.

“We don’t know how many of their hearts are on our side,” she added, pointing to security forces gathered near the protest.

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According to Reuters estimates, about 7,000 people gathered in Caracas around 2:20 p.m. local time. In the days after the election, thousands also took to the streets.

62-year-old Maduro was in power since 2013 He enjoys the vocal support of the heads of the armed forces and intelligence services, which are run by close allies of powerful Interior Minister Diasdado Cabello.

“I am convinced that nothing will happen,” Cabela said on state television on Monday. “But that doesn’t mean we’re going to lower our guard.”

The military’s financial interests make it unlikely that loyalties will change, London-based investment bank BancTrust said in a note. “A limited military insurgency would entail significant risk for those involved and thus reduce incentives to participate,” it said.

“WE HAVE NO JOB”

Security forces set up roadblocks across the country.

In the western oil city of Maracaibo, an opposition protest of dozens of people was quickly dispersed by security forces on motorcycles by late morning. In central Valencia, protesters gathered elsewhere after initially being met with tear gas.

Opposition supporters also gathered in San Cristóbal, near the border with Colombia, in the western city of Barquisimeto and in the eastern Puerto Ardas.

“I’m here because we need to get rid of this government. We have no money, we have no work,” said 62-year-old housewife Roiza Gomez at a protest in the center of Maracay. “I am fighting for my vote, which I cast for Edmund Gonzalez. They cannot steal the election.”

Shortly afterwards, security forces fired tear gas to disperse the protesters in Marakai.

Many of the demonstrators were of retirement age and said they wanted change so that their children and grandchildren of migrants could return to the country. More than 7 million Venezuelans live abroad.

The ruling party held rival marches across the country, footage of which was broadcast on state television.

“We came out to show that there is democracy. On this side the patriots who will swear together with Nicolás (Maduro), on the other side the fascists who want (foreign) intervention, war to sell their country. ” said Manuel Rincón, a 50-year-old motorcycle taxi driver in Caracas.

Gonzalez, who has been on a tour of the Americas this week and met with US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump’s national security adviser, has repeatedly promised to return to Venezuela but has not given details on how.

A warrant was issued for Gonzalez’s arrest on suspicion of conspiracy, which led to his September flight to Spain.

The attorney general is investigating Machado in at least two cases, but no warrant has been released for her.

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Authorities detained several prominent politicians and activists, including a former presidential candidate. This week, the attorney general’s office said it had released more than 1,500 of the 2,000 people, including teenagers, detained during the post-election protests.

Venezuelans living abroad also held protests, including in Madrid, where Gonzalez’s daughter Carolina Gonzalez addressed hundreds of demonstrators.

“My dad hugs all of you, kudos to the brave people of Venezuela,” she said in a broken voice.