CARACAS – Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado called Wednesday (Thursday Manila time) for supporters to “mobilize” after President Nicolas Maduro vowed to hold onto power following a widely disputed election.
Machado’s message comes amid deep uncertainty in the South American country, after Maduro was declared the winner in Sunday’s election but with electoral authorities failing to disclose detailed results to back up the claim.
Sixteen people have been killed in protests that erupted after the election, according to the opposition, which claims its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia is the rightful victor.
The opposition has released a large set of voting data it says shows him defeating Maduro by a wide margin, as pre-election polls had suggested.
“We spent months building a robust platform that could defend the vote and unquestionably demonstrate our triumph. WE SUCCEEDED,” Machado, who was barred from running in the election, said Wednesday evening on X.
“Now it is up to ALL of us to assert the truth that we ALL know. Let’s mobilize. WE WILL SUCCEED,” she said.
Numerous nations, including Brazil, the United States, and the European Union, have demanded Venezuelan authorities release the detailed data, with the White House warning Wednesday that the international community’s patience was running out.
Maduro said he was “ready to present 100 percent of the records,” as he addressed journalists outside the Supreme Court of Justice, where he filed an appeal against what he termed an “attack against the electoral process.”
But he voiced outrage at Machado and Gonzalez Urrutia, saying they “should be behind bars.”
On Monday, security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at Venezuelans after thousands took to the streets shouting “Freedom, freedom!” and “This government is going to fall!”
Machado said there had been 177 detentions and 11 “forced disappearances,” while Attorney General Tarek William Saab said 749 had been arrested at protests, some of whom may face terrorism charges.
The military reported one death and 23 injuries among its ranks.
Undaunted, thousands gathered again Tuesday for peaceful demonstrations of support for the opposition in several cities.
“We offered the regime to democratically accept its defeat and move forward in negotiations to ensure a peaceful transition,” Machado said on X.
“However, they have opted for the route of repression, violence and lies.”
Brian Nichols, the top US diplomat for Latin America, said that the polling results released by the opposition provided “irrefutable evidence” that Maduro lost “by millions of votes.”
But in an emergency meeting Wednesday, the Organization of American States (OAS) regional body failed to adopt a resolution calling for the detailed results to be released “immediately,” with Colombia and Brazil notably abstaining.
Maduro has led the oil-rich country since 2013, presiding over a GDP drop of 80 percent that pushed more than seven million of once-wealthy Venezuela’s 30 million citizens to emigrate.
He is accused of locking up critics and harassing opponents in a climate of rising authoritarianism.
Sunday’s elections were held in the shadow of Maduro’s warnings of a “bloodbath” if he were to lose, and amid widespread fear the vote would be rigged.
Maduro’s previous reelection, in 2018, was rejected as a sham by dozens of Latin American and other countries, including the United States and members of the European Union.
Years of crippling US sanctions failed to dislodge the president, who enjoys loyalty from the military leadership, electoral bodies, courts and other state institutions, as well as the backing of Russia, China and Cuba.
Peru recognized Gonzalez Urrutia as Venezuela’s legitimate president on Tuesday, prompting Caracas to sever diplomatic ties.
Venezuela has withdrawn diplomatic staff from eight critical Latin American countries and asked envoys from those nations to leave its territory.
That includes Argentina, whose embassy in Caracas is housing several associates of Machado as asylees, creating uncertainty around their futures.
Meanwhile, hundreds of pro-Maduro protesters took to the streets of Caracas Wednesday to voice their support for the embattled president in response to the global criticism.
“They have said the same thing in previous years, in previous elections they always talk about ‘fraud,’” Edwin Blanco, a 30-year-old supporter of Maduro, told AFP.
Ledys Rodriguez, 65, told AFP she found the actions of the opposition “painful.”
“Who do you think is supporting them? They’re being backed by foreign countries.”
