Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado says she has to “hide” and “fears for her life”

She is forced to “to hide”Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado assured “fear for [sa] life”Thursday, August 1, after calling for mobilization in the streets against the contested re-election of Nicolas Maduro as head of the country.

“I write these lines in secret, fearing for my life, my freedom and that of my compatriots”writes Maria Corina Machado in a column in the American daily The Wall Street Journalthe day after threats were made against her by Nicolas Maduro. On Wednesday evening, she called on Venezuelans to take to the streets. “We proposed to the regime to accept its defeat democratically (…) but it chose the path of repression, violence and lies”she said on X. “It is now up to all of us to assert the truth. Let’s mobilize.”.

Maria Corina Machado had been declared ineligible by the government, and replaced at short notice in Sunday’s presidential election by the discreet diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. Nicolas Maduro, in power since 2013 and heir to socialist leader Hugo Chavez, was re-elected for a third term until 2031, at the end of Sunday’s election won with 51.2% of the vote against 44.2% for his opponent, according to official results.

His opponents immediately denounced a “massive fraud”claiming to have proof of victory. They are demanding that the ballots be recounted in a transparent manner, a demand echoed by many Western countries, but also in Latin America.

More than 1,200 people have been arrested and a dozen killed in spontaneous protests that have erupted across the country in the two days since the vote. The opposition has reported 20 deaths and 11 forced disappearances. For his part, Nicolas Maduro threatened Wednesday to imprison the two opposition leaders, vowing that his opponents would not succeed. “never in power”.