- Venezuelan opposition parties and their supporters protested across the country on Thursday in a last-minute attempt to put pressure on President Nicolás Maduro, a day before he is to be sworn in for his third six-year term.
- Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela’s most popular opposition leader, made her first appearance since August when she went into hiding in an unknown location.
- Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, 62, has been in power since 2013.
Venezuelan opposition parties and their supporters – included leader Maria Corina Machadowho had been in hiding – protested across the country on Thursday in an attempt to put pressure on President Nicolás Maduro, a day before he is to be sworn in for his third six-year term.
The opposition and the ruling party are locked in an ongoing dispute over last year’s presidential election, which they both claim to have won.
The electoral authority and the country’s highest court say Maduro, whose term in office was marked by a deep economic and social crisis, won the July elections, although they have never published detailed figures.
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The government, which has accused the opposition of inciting fascist plots against it, said it will arrest opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez if he returns to the country, and has detained prominent opposition figures and activists ahead of the inauguration.
The opposition says Gonzalez, 75, won in a landslide. It has published its own voting figures as evidence, drawing support from governments around the world, including the United States, which considers Gonzalez the president-elect.
Machado, the country’s most popular opposition leader but who was banned from running in 2024, took part in a protest in Chacao in eastern Caracas at around 2:20 p.m. local time (6:20 GMT), wearing a white shirt and jeans. and waving a Venezuelan flag from the top of a truck.
A Venezuelan opposition supporter reacts as he gathers with other supporters ahead of the inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro for a third term in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 9, 2025. (Reuters/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)
“They have lost the streets, which are ours, they are barricaded in Miraflores (presidential palace),” Machado told the crowd. “As of today, we are in a new phase.”
Her appearance marked her first public outing since August, when she went into hiding in an unknown location.
Machado, 57, urged protesters to peacefully flood the streets and repeatedly asked members of the police and military – who guarded polling stations during the election – to support Gonzalez’s victory.
“I am not afraid, I lost my fear a long time ago,” said 70-year-old Neglis Payares, a retired central bank employee, as she gathered with other opposition supporters in western Caracas in the morning.
“We don’t know how many of them have their hearts on our side,” she added, gesturing to security forces gathered at the protest.
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Reuters witnesses estimated that about 7,000 people had gathered in Caracas by 2:20 p.m. local time. Thousands also took to the streets in the days after the elections.
Maduro, 62, is in power since 2013. He has the vociferous support of leaders in the armed forces and intelligence services, which are led by close allies of powerful Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.
“I am convinced that nothing will happen,” Cabello said on state television on Monday. “But that doesn’t mean we’re going to let our guard down.”
The military’s financial interests make shifts in loyalty unlikely, BancTrust, a London investment bank, said in a note. “A limited military uprising would pose significant risks to those involved, reducing incentives to participate,” the report said.
‘WE HAVE NO WORK’
Security forces set up checkpoints across the country.
In the western oil city of Maracaibo, an opposition protest of dozens of people was quickly dispersed by motorcycle-mounted security forces late in the morning. In central Valencia, demonstrators gathered at a different location after initially being confronted 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 have to get rid of this government. We have no money, we have no work,” said 62-year-old housewife Roisa Gomez during a protest in the central city of Maracay. “I’m fighting for my vote, which I cast for Edmundo Gonzalez. They can’t steal the election.”
Shortly afterwards, security forces used tear gas to disperse the Maracay protesters.
Many of the protesters were of retirement age and said they wanted change so that their migrant children and grandchildren would return to the country. More than 7 million Venezuelans live abroad.
The ruling party held rival marches nationwide, footage of which was broadcast on state television.
“We came out to show that a democracy exists. On this side are the patriots who will be sworn in with Nicolas (Maduro), on the other side are the fascists who want (foreign) intervention, war, to sell their country,” said 50-year-old Caracas motorcycle taxi driver Manual Rincon.
Gonzalez, who has been touring America this week and meeting with US President Joe Biden and newly elected President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, has repeatedly pledged to return to Venezuela but did not provide details on how.
An arrest warrant was issued for Gonzalez for alleged conspiracy, prompting his flight to Spain in September.
Machado is under investigation by the attorney general in at least two cases, but no warrants against her have been made public.
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The government has arrested several high-profile 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, arrested during post-election protests.
Venezuelans living abroad also held protests, including in Madrid, where Gonzalez’s daughter Carolina Gonzalez addressed hundreds of demonstrators.
“My father gives you all a hug, glory to the brave people of Venezuela,” she said, her voice breaking.
