Maria Corina reappears during massive protest

CARACAS (AP).— Amid a sea of ​​Venezuelan flags, thousands of opposition protesters took to the streets in Caracas on Monday to demand respect for their vote, raising tensions in the South American country following controversial presidential elections in which President Nicolas Maduro and his opponents claimed victory.

After midday, opposition leader María Corina Machado arrived at a rally in the east of the capital riding on the roof of a truck and was greeted with the singing of the national anthem.

María Corina reappeared in public after announcing a few days ago that she was in hiding out of fear following the strong accusations and threats of arrest she received from the authorities.

Speaking to the crowd, the opposition leader said that “we have overcome all the barriers. We have torn them all down,” while the demonstrators cheered her on with applause and shouts of “freedom!” and “until the end.”

“Today, fear is elsewhere because they know that there is a country determined to move forward,” he said in a defiant tone and assured that after last Sunday’s elections “the transition to democracy in Venezuela began.

“Ours is a civic and peaceful struggle, but it is not weak,” he said.

During her speech, María Corina highlighted opposition candidate Edmundo González, whom she identified as a “good, strong and brave” man.

González, a 74-year-old former diplomat, was not present at the opposition rally.

At the end of the event, María Corina got out of the truck and got on a motorcycle to quickly leave the place without any known destination.

The opposition protests were replicated in several towns in the interior of Venezuela and in some cities in the United States, Spain, Argentina, Panama and Colombia where the Venezuelan community has grown following the massive migration that triggered the prolonged economic and social crisis.

Pro-government march

The government also called on its supporters to take part in the “mother of all marches” in Caracas to celebrate what they believe will be Maduro’s re-election for a third term.

In recent days, the Venezuelan president has stepped up his attacks on the opposition and in particular against María Corina Machado and González, whom he has held responsible for the protests that broke out earlier this week in Caracas and several cities in the interior and which left 11 dead and 939 detained, including 90 teenagers, according to humanitarian organizations.

Before the march began, several hundred government supporters rode out on motorcycles along the capital’s avenues and highways and even went as far as the place where the opposition was holding its rally, which was guarded by police in the surrounding area.

The protests erupted after the ruling party-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Maduro the winner of the July 28 presidential election, a move the opposition refused to recognize and sparked harsh criticism from the international community over a lack of transparency in the dissemination of the results.

In response to these actions, the government has called for daily demonstrations in the capital since last Tuesday to show its “strength.”

Earlier, the Organization of American States (OAS) called for peaceful protests and for “reconciliation and justice” in the country.

“May every Venezuelan man, woman, who speaks out in the street today (yesterday) find only an echo of peace, a peace that reflects the spirit of democratic coexistence,” the international organization indicated.

Opposition Minutes

The opposition announced the day before yesterday about 80% of the voting records, which they claim favor their candidate.

Verification

An AP analysis of nearly 24,000 images of electoral records, representing 79% of the total, found that Edmundo González received 6.89 million votes, almost half a million more than the CNE says Maduro obtained.

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