CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans around the world, some carrying flags and other patriotic trappings, heeded the call of their country's political opposition on Saturday, taking to the streets to defend the faction's claim of victory against President Nicolas Maduro in last month's disputed presidential election.
The demonstrations in Tokyo, Sydney, Mexico City and several other cities were an effort by the main opposition coalition to provide a visible demonstration of what they say are the true results of the election. They also called on the government to express support for candidate Edmundo Gonzalez and to show support for Venezuelans who are afraid to speak out against Maduro and his allies in their home country amid a brutal campaign of repression.
As thousands of Venezuelans waved flags, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado rode through the streets of Caracas in a truck, chanting “bravery” and “freedom,” and told the crowd that this was a moment when “every vote counts.”
“I want the world and all Venezuelans to recognize that the next president is Edmundo Gonzalez,” she said to applause from thousands of cheering supporters.
Earlier, opposition candidate Gonzalez posted on his X account, “They will not be able to hide the reality of July 28. We won a resounding victory.” He did not show up to the Caracas demonstration.
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At the Revolution Monument in downtown Mexico City, hundreds of people, young and old, chanted “Freedom! Freedom!” a slogan often heard at pre-election opposition rallies. They also chanted “Maduro out! Maduro out!” as passing motorists honked their horns.
“What's happening now is that Venezuela has woken up. The government doesn't have the courage to make the tally public,” Antonia Invernon said, referring to the voting results documents that are seen as the ultimate proof of the results. “What are they afraid of?”
Venezuela's National Electoral Council, made up of members loyal to the ruling party, declared Maduro the winner of the July 28 election hours after polls closed. Unlike previous presidential elections, the electoral council has not released detailed voting data in tabulations to back up its claim that Maduro received 6.4 million votes to 5.3 million for González, who represents the Unity Platform opposition coalition.
But Mr Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado shocked Venezuelans by revealing that they had obtained more than 80 percent of the vote tally printed by electronic voting machines after the polls had closed. The documents, they said, showed Mr Gonzalez had won by a landslide and had been uploaded to a website for anyone to see.
Machado urged his supporters to print out tally sheets from polling stations and bring them to Saturday's demonstrations. In Mexico City, some held signs denouncing the Mexican government's decision not to attend Friday's Organization of American States hearing focused on Venezuela's electoral crisis.
“Sorry we couldn't see you in OEA, Mexico,” one sign read, using an acronym for the local organization in Spanish.
The opposition has consistently said it needs international support to force Maduro to accept the adverse election results.
“The ridicule is worse this time because the evidence is there and everyone can see it,” Jeanette Hurtado, 57, who left Venezuela two years ago, said of the tally. “They (the government) have stolen the election from us again.”
Hurtado said she realized widespread arrests across South America in connection with election protests made Venezuelans afraid to speak out against Maduro, and she has friends who haven't texted her since.
Security forces have arrested more than 2,000 people for taking part in protests against Maduro or for casting doubt on his claim to a third term despite strong evidence that he lost by more than 2 to 1. Another 24 people have been killed, according to the Venezuela-based human rights group Provea.
The wave of arrests, driven by President Maduro himself, is unprecedented and puts Venezuela on track to jail well over the number of people jailed in the president's three previous crackdowns on his opponents.
The arrests included journalists, political leaders, campaign staff and lawyers representing protesters. Some had their Venezuelan passports revoked as they tried to leave the country. One local activist live-streamed his arrest as military intelligence agents with crowbars broke into his home.
“It breaks my heart to see what's happening,” said Furtado's daughter, Veronica Guedes, 19. “We are here as brothers and sisters to support us.”
The opposition was dealt a blow on Thursday when Brazil and Colombia, which had been pressuring Maduro to release results confirming his victory, began proposing a rerun of the election. But Machado firmly rejected any proposal to rerun the election, calling it an “insult” to the people.
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Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City.
