“González Urrutia will be sworn in as president in January 2025”

The opposition leader, Maria Corina Machadois convinced that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia will be sworn in as the new head of state on January 10, 2025when the new government period begins, despite the official proclamation of Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the July 28 elections, a victory questioned inside and outside the country.

In an interview with Efe, the national coordinator of Vente Venezuela reiterated that the opposition’s standard-bearer Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) won “in an overwhelming manner» the elections, whose official result has been rejected by numerous countries, while the Carter Centerwho participated as an observer in the contest, said that the electoral process “cannot be considered democratic«.

«Edmundo González will be the new head of state and the new commander in chief of the Armed Forces and that depends on what we all do, all Venezuelans inside and outside the country (…) I trust the people of Venezuela and that is why I know that on January 10 we will have a new president.“, held.

While she remains under protection due to threats against her, the opposition member accuses the National Electoral Council (CNE) has not yet published the disaggregated results of the election – contrary to its own schedule – despite numerous requests for transparency from the international community.

The “fraud”

Taking as true the electoral records that the PUD published on a website, Machado assures that the “The whole world knows» that Maduro, in power since 2013lost the elections and is trying to achieve “the biggest fraud in history» by insisting on his victory, with the help of institutions and the military leadership.

Maduro «It has zero legitimacy today, no legitimacy at all, and therefore it is a moment in which the international community has to leave a very clear red line linked to respect for popular sovereignty.«he continued.

He also hopes that foreign governments, “firmly and unequivocally, make Maduro understand that what he is doing is unacceptable, using repressive forces against innocent citizens.“, in reference to the balance left by the post-election crisis, with More than 2,400 arrested and 24 dead-according to several NGOs- some of them in citizen protests.

The former deputy also foresees that, in the coming days, critical voices against Chavismo will continue to grow because, she said, it is about applying “All the pressure needed to make Maduro understand that his best option is to accept the terms of a negotiation“, something that the president has already publicly rejected, as he insists that he won the elections.

The military

On the role that the military should play in this eventual transition, he believes that their most important task is, likewise, to make Maduro understand “that they are not going to repress the people” and that “they are going to comply with the constitutional mandate of enforcing popular sovereignty«.

«The one who is using military force to prevent the transition is precisely Nicolás Maduro, (it is he) who has entrenched himself – surrounded by members of the high military command – to ignore the will expressed by the people.“He reiterated about the Armed Forces, whose leadership has expressed its unrestricted support for the Chavista leader.

He explained that, although the specific points of a transition “are the subject of such negotiation,” it is important to highlight “the provision» of the opposition «to advance along that route“, both with Maduro and with high-ranking military and civilian officials.

«It is the best option Maduro has today and it may be the only one, because trying to stay in power by force, supported exclusively by the use of violence, is unsustainable in today’s Venezuela.“, said.

The opposition

While maintaining a “permanent contact» con Gonzalez Urrutia, Also under guard, Machado indicates that both of them “It is necessary to continue increasing the pressure“, a task that they hope to develop with the support of Venezuelans and the international community so that”This civic and peaceful protest remains alive«.

Asked about the decision to keep her whereabouts hidden, despite the fact that the Prosecutor’s Office assured that there was no arrest warrant against her, she recalled that Maduro himself called her a terrorist and asked to send her to jail, while others “Hundreds of leaders are in hiding» also because of these «threats“just when the president has called for extreme police and military control.

«We are all working for the same purpose (…) we are going to win, we will not leave the streets, we will continue to take this message to the entire world (…) Edmundo González is the president-elect, what is required is to enforce the sovereign will of the people“, he concluded.