Maduro re-elected in Venezuela | One dead in spontaneous protests

(Caracas) At least one person died, according to an NGO, in one of the spontaneous demonstrations that broke out Monday in Venezuela, punctuated by clashes with the police, after the re-election of President Nicolas Maduro, which has aroused skepticism in the international community, with the opposition claiming to be able to “prove” its victory.

“At least one person was killed in [l’État de] Yaracuy and 46 people are detained” following the post-election events, wrote on X Alfredo Romero, director of the NGO Foro Penal, specialized in the defense of political prisoners.

“Let him give up power now,” thousands of protesters shouted in several poor neighborhoods of Caracas on Monday, some burning posters bearing the president’s image, AFP journalists noted.

“This is the most massive fraud in the world,” protested Luis Garcia, 23, in the crowd of protesters in Petare, in the east of Caracas.

“For the freedom of our country! For the future of our children. Maduro must go!” shouts Marina Sugey, 42.

The protesters, who threw stones, were dispersed by tear gas as they approached the centre of the capital.

Nicolas Maduro was officially proclaimed president of Venezuela on Monday by the National Electoral Council (CNE).

Brushing aside criticism from the opposition and the international community, Mr Maduro denounced an attempt to impose a “fascist coup in Venezuela”.

“Proof of Victory”

On Monday evening, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was unable to run in the election because she was declared ineligible by the government, assured a press conference that the opposition had the means to “prove” the victory of its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, a discreet diplomat who had replaced her at short notice.

The opposition collected 73% of the results from the polling stations and according to them, Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia obtained 6.27 million votes, against 2.7 million for the outgoing president Nicolas Maduro, proclaimed winner by the CNE.

M^me Machado claimed that these “proofs of victory” were provided to “leaders” around the world and would be posted online overnight.

The day before, the head of the CNE had denounced an “aggression against the data transmission system which delayed” the count. These counts by polling station that the opposition and the international community are demanding are not available.

On Monday, the prosecutor’s office opened an investigation, citing Mr.^me Machado in this “hacking”.

According to official results from the CNE, Mr Maduro, 61, the heir to former President Hugo Chavez (1999-2013), was re-elected for a third consecutive six-year term with 5.15 million votes (51.2%).

Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, 74, collected just under 4.5 million (44.2%), according to the CNE.

The opposition, which had hoped to end 25 years of Chavista power, immediately rejected the result.

“We will fight for our freedom,” Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia assured on Monday evening, reminding “all institutions” of their “constitutional duty to respect the popular will.”

He nevertheless felt that the day’s “demonstrations” did not contribute to the “objective”. At his side, Mr.^me Machado preferred to call for “popular assemblies” on Tuesday across the country.

“Dispel doubts”

While Mr. Maduro has received support from Russia and China as well as his usual allies (Cuba, Nicaragua, Honduras and Bolivia), he appears to be isolated with the influx of negative or skeptical reactions from the international community.

Nine Latin American countries (Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay) have called in a joint declaration for a “complete review with the presence of independent electoral observers.”

Brazil and Colombia, two left-wing countries, have called for an audit of the vote count, while the United States has said it “is concerned that the announced result does not reflect the will or the vote of the Venezuelan people.”

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and France have called for “total transparency”, demanding full minutes and results.

Caracas responded to this outcry by withdrawing its diplomatic personnel from seven Latin American countries (Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic and Uruguay), considering that their position “undermines national sovereignty.”

Venezuela also announced that it would suspend flights with Panama and the Dominican Republic from Wednesday, denouncing “interference actions” by these governments.

“This is not an ideal outcome for Maduro,” said Rebecca Hanson of the University of Florida. “In terms of gaining some international legitimacy — which was a goal of Mr. Maduro — this election was a disaster.”

Intimidation

The campaign and the vote took place in a tense atmosphere, with the opposition denouncing numerous intimidations and arrests.

Caracas had limited the possibility of observing the voting process. The Carter Center, one of the few independent observers present, called on the CNE to publish the results of Sunday’s vote in each polling station.

Venezuela, long one of the richest countries in Latin America, is bled dry: collapse of oil production, GDP reduced by 80% in ten years, poverty, health and education systems totally dilapidated. Seven million Venezuelans have fled their country.

The government accuses the “criminal blockade” of being the cause of all the problems: the United States had tightened its sanctions in an attempt to oust Mr. Maduro after his already contested re-election in 2018, a vote marred by fraud according to the opposition, which led to demonstrations that were severely repressed.