“Maduro Must Go!” Shout Venezuelans at Home and Abroad

Thousands of Venezuelans protested this Saturday, August 17, 2024, in major capitals and cities around the world, demonstrating their strength and unity against the “fraud” committed by Nicolas Maduro’s government in the presidential elections held on July 28th. They demand that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia be recognized as the elected president and winner of those elections.

In Caracas, the epicenter of the global call from Venezuela’s largest opposition alliance, the big surprise was the reappearance of opposition leader María Corina Machado before thousands of supporters.

After two weeks in hiding, fearing for her “freedom and life,” Machado appeared on the popular campaign truck, cheered by thousands of protesters who answered her call to continue peaceful protests. She was accompanied by several opposition figures including Delsa Solorzano, Biagio Pilieri, and Cesar Perez Vivas.

The opposition leader declared that “the greatest civic feat in the country’s history” was achieved by their movement through the candidacy of Edmundo Gonzalez, who “swept” the presidential elections.

“They thought that by persecuting our poll witnesses, we wouldn’t be able to get our copies of the tally sheets, but within 24 hours, we had them digitized,” Machado said to thousands of opposition supporters mobilized in defense of the “truth.”

During her speech, which concluded the protest, Machado announced a “fifth stage” of the struggle that consists of “claiming” Edmundo Gonzalez’s victory and ensuring that “every vote is respected.”

“There is nothing above the sovereign voice, and the sovereign voice has spoken in Venezuela. The world and everyone within Venezuela must recognize that the elected president is Edmundo González,” she said.

15,000 Venezuelans protested in Spain

The largest demonstration outside Venezuelan borders took place in Madrid, with nearly 15,000 people filling the iconic Puerta del Sol, chanting “Freedom” and “Maduro Out.”

Exiled Venezuelan leaders such as Leopoldo Lopez and former Caracas mayor Antonio Ledezma attended this protest.

In London, between 450 and 600 Venezuelans gathered at the doors of the Venezuelan Embassy in the British capital, located in Chelsea, shouting, “We want freedom for Venezuela, and we want it now,” and “Edmundo is the president.”

Protesters raised copies of the electoral records presented by the Venezuelan opposition, which showed Edmundo Gonzalez winning with 67% of the vote —with more than 7.3 million— compared to Nicolas Maduro with 30% and 3.3 million votes, contradicting the official version.

In addition to London, other British cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Oxford, Bournemouth, and Bristol, also held protests in favor of Venezuela’s freedom, encouraged by the global protest led by the opposition leaders.

The United Kingdom, along with twenty countries and the European Union, called on Friday for the “immediate publication of all original voting results records” and the “impartial and independent” verification of the election results in Venezuela, in which the National Electoral Council declared Nicolás Maduro the winner.

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In Brussels, about 250 people protested in the city center. “This government keeps us in poverty, with little freedom of expression. If we had been there, we would probably be in jail too; we can’t say we disagree,” said Wilmer Veliz, a Venezuelan living in Belgium for eight months.

Meanwhile, dozens of Venezuelans residing in the Netherlands gathered in front of Amsterdam’s Central Station to denounce the election fraud in their country, according to the Dutch agency ANP.

Protesters carried Venezuelan flags and signs reading “Free Venezuela” and “Freedom for All Political Prisoners,” as reported by local media.

In Paris, Venezuelans gathered at the Place de la Bastille under persistent rain. Other protests were also organized in a dozen other French cities, including Lyon, Marseille, Lille, Bordeaux, Bayonne, La Rochelle, and Le Havre.

Protesters in Paris chanted various slogans in Spanish, including “No to fraud!”, “No to repression!”, “Edmundo, president!” and “Maduro must go!”.

Protests in the Americas

In Colombia, the country hosting the most Venezuelans abroad, hundreds of people gathered in the main city squares, chanting “Edmundo is the president” and holding signs reading “Free Venezuela” and “Maduro Out,” in rallies that united Colombians and Venezuelans hoping to return home.

People gathered in São Paulo, Brazil. “Who are we? Venezuela! What do we want? Freedom!” chanted the protesters, gathered in front of the statue of Francisco de Miranda, a hero of Venezuelan independence, on the iconic Avenida Paulista, the main street of South America’s largest city.

In Montevideo, Uruguay, Venezuelans gathered in the central Plaza Independencia of the Uruguayan capital, chanting slogans like “Who are we? Venezuela! What do we want? Freedom!” and “We won, and we will claim it,” along with chants of insults against Maduro.

In Mexico City, more than a thousand Venezuelans gathered at the Monument to the Revolution. Protesters called on President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to abandon his stance of alleged neutrality.

“The position of Mexico’s president is as if he’s trying to avoid giving an opinion that could later create a commitment; we don’t know his reasons,” said Venezuelan dentist and university professor Juan Carlos Vielma.

In Canada, protest marches were held in 14 cities across the country, including Ottawa, London, Kingston, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Quebec.

This article was published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by Havana Times. To get the most relevant news from our English coverage delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to The Dispatch.