Violence Breaks Out in Venezuela Following Controversial Election Outcome
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado claimed that her party had defeated President Nicolas Maduro’s ruling party.
Protests broke out in Venezuela on July 29 following a disputed election outcome where both President Nicolas Maduro and his opponent, Edmundo Gonzalez, asserted victory.
The Venezuelan Conflict Observatory, an advocacy group, documented on social media clashes between protesters and security forces, reporting over 180 protests in 20 of the country’s 23 states.
“Numerous acts of repression and violence by paramilitary collectives and security forces have been recorded,” the group stated in a July 29 post on the social media platform X.
On Monday, demonstrators toppled a statue of Hugo Chavez, Mr. Maduro’s late mentor, who served as the president from 1999 until his death in 2013, establishing socialist governance in the nation.
Maria Corina Machado, the opposition party leader, announced during a press conference on Monday that they had evidence showing her party’s triumph over Mr. Maduro’s ruling party in the July 28 election.
She revealed that 73% of the counted votes accessible to the opposition indicated Mr. Gonzalez had decisively won, garnering more than double the votes received by Mr. Maduro.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan election officials announced on Monday that Mr. Maduro had won a third six-year term with 51% of the vote.
Both the ruling party and the opposition have called on their supporters to join in marches.
Ms. Machado expressed in a July 30 X post, “My dear Venezuelans, tomorrow we unite as a family, organized, demonstrating our determination to ensure every vote counts and defend the truth.”
Mr. Maduro’s campaign manager, Jorge Rodriguez, a ruling party lawmaker, also urged supporters to march to the Miraflores Palace to back the ruling party.
