Deisy Buitrago and Mariela Nava
CARACAS/MARACAIBO (Reuters) – Venezuela’s political opposition and its supporters gathered in cities across the country on Friday to demand recognition of what they say is a resounding victory for their candidate in the presidential vote almost three weeks ago.
The country’s electoral authorities, which the opposition sees as an arm of the ruling party, said President Nicolas Maduro won a third term in the July 28 contest, with just 52% of the vote.
But the opposition, led by former parliamentarian Maria Corina Machado, has published online about 83% of the voting machines, which gave 67% support to the candidate Edmundo Gonzalez.
The disputed election has plunged the economically beleaguered country into political crisis, and the government’s crackdown on protests has led to at least 2,400 arrests. Clashes linked to the protests have also left at least 23 dead.
The international community has offered a raft of suggestions to deal with the nearly three-week-old electoral crisis – including new votes – but most have been rejected outright by both the ruling and opposition parties.
In the capital Caracas, thousands gathered in the eastern part of the city along the main road.
Standing on a truck in the middle of the crowd, Machado called for independent, international verification of the election and for supporters to stay on the streets.
“Nothing beats the voice of the people and the people have spoken,” he said.
Jesus Aguilar, a 21-year-old theology student, said he supports the opposition in the hope of a better future: “We know that this government has no chance to grow the country.”
In cities across the country, Venezuelans took to the streets. In Maracaibo, an oil-rich city in northwestern Venezuela, hundreds had gathered by 9 a.m. (1300 GMT).
“We’ve been through the worst, we’re not afraid anymore,” Noraima Rodriguez, 52, told Reuters. “My daughter died because there were no medical supplies at the university hospital. I have nothing, but I want a future for my grandchildren.”
In the cities of Valencia, San Cristobal and Barquisimeto, hundreds demonstrated, many waving Venezuelan flags, protest signs or copies of the vote count. In Maracay, about 110 km (70 miles) west of Caracas, about a hundred protesters were dispersed with tear gas.
From Bogota to Madrid, the Venezuelan diaspora is growing. In downtown Mexico City, nearly 1,000 people gathered in the middle of the Plaza de la Revolucion.
“It’s time for a free Venezuela,” said Jesus Mata, 30, a street vendor who arrived in Mexico two years ago.
Motivated by the economic and political crisis, he was among tens of thousands of Venezuelans to cross the treacherous jungle between Colombia and Panama known as the Darien Gap, notorious for robberies, kidnappings, rape and other dangers.
“I hope to end 25 years of darkness, that there is freedom so that almost 8 million Venezuelans who are outside the country can return home,” he said.
Maduro has presided over an economic collapse, with the loss of more than 73% of Venezuela’s gross domestic product since 2013, according to researchers from the Institute for Advanced Administrative Studies in Caracas.
At the Miraflores Palace after a rally in support of the government, Maduro promised 8% growth this year and defied international critics and the opposition.
“We have won the right to do whatever we want in Venezuela, but no one can stick their nose in Venezuela,” he told a crowd waving Venezuelan flags. “I don’t go around advising anybody in the world what to do with this country or that country…
The opposition is still pushing to recognize its victory, but its options are narrowing as international attention shifts elsewhere, opposition sources and analysts told Reuters this week.
Many Western countries have called for full publication of the results, while Russia, China and others have congratulated Maduro on his victory.
Washington, which tightened oil sanctions in April against OPEC members because of what it says is Maduro’s failure to abide by an agreement on election conditions, and other Western countries have shown no sign of quick and hard action over what many have condemned as a vote. fraud.
Latin American leaders will discuss the crisis this weekend when many are in the Dominican Republic to attend the inauguration of the country’s new president, Panama’s president said.
