Pope Francis called on Sunday to “seek the truth” in Venezuela between fraud complaints in the re-election of the president Nicolas Madurowhile opposition leader María Corina Machado thanked seven European countries for their request to publish the minutes of the elections.
The Pope’s call comes after requests from the United States and several Latin American and European countries to publish the minutes of the disputed presidential elections of July 28, amid protests that left at least eleven civilians dead according to human rights organizations, and more than 2,000 detained.
“I make a heartfelt appeal to all parties to seek the truth, to act with moderation, to avoid any kind of violence, to resolve disputes through dialogue and to keep the true good of the population at heart and not partisan interests,” Francis told a crowd after the Sunday Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
Maduro was ratified by the pro-government National Electoral Council (CNE) as re-elected president with 52% of the votes against 43% for the opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, who was nominated due to a political disqualification that vetoed former congresswoman Machado. The leftist leader would thus assume a third term that projects him to 18 years in power.
However, the opposition published on a website minutes that would give González 67% of the votes.
The electoral authority has yet to release detailed results of the vote and claims its system was the target of a “massive hack.” Maduro and senior officials dismiss the validity of the documents released by the opposition.
Commitment to democracy
After reappearing in public on Saturday at a rally in Caracas after having declared herself in “hiddenness,” the opposition leader thanked Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal on Sunday for their “commitment to democracy” following the request by these nations to publish the minutes of the Venezuelan presidential election.
In a statement released by the Italian government on Saturday, the seven European countries expressed “strong concern” and called on the authorities to “quickly publish all records” of the elections to ensure their “full transparency.”
“On behalf of the Venezuelan people, I am grateful for this important statement,” Machado wrote on the social network X. “We support the demand that the reports we have presented be verified as soon as possible, at an international and independent level,” she added.
The United States, which maintains financial sanctions against Venezuela to pressure Maduro, has backed the opposition by maintaining that there is “overwhelming evidence” of a González Urrutia victory.
Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Panama also recognized González Urrutia as the winner of the presidential elections.
Countries such as Brazil, Colombia and Mexico are trying to push for a political agreement.
Russia and China, in contrast, supported the Chavista ruler.
“Guado 2.0”
Maduro denounced Saturday that a plan to “usurp” power was underway in front of a demonstration of supporters who reached the Miraflores presidential palace.
“We will not accept, under national laws, any attempt to usurp the presidency again,” Maduro warned, drawing a parallel with the international recognition received in 2019 by opposition leader Juan Guaidó, currently exiled in the United States after a failed offensive to oust the socialist leader. He called González Urrutia “Guaidó 2.0” in that vein.
Guaidó, then head of Parliament, was recognized as “interim president” by Washington and around fifty governments that considered Maduro’s re-election in 2018 to be fraudulent, in elections boycotted by the opposition.
However, Machado doubled down on his challenge with his reappearance. González Urrutia did not participate in the opposition mobilization.
“We are not going to leave the streets,” said the leader, who after the march got on a motorcycle and sped off to her place of shelter.
Maduro, who has said that Machado and González Urrutia should “be behind bars,” said that “police-military patrols” will continue to “protect the people.”
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