Venezuela in flames: Riots erupt over 'stolen' election as protesters clash with police following President Maduro's victory declaration after overseeing years of food shortages and a collapsed economy
- Thousands of enraged protesters flooded the streets of Venezuela's capital and many other cities yesterday
- Opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez claims his party can prove he beat President Maduro in election
Venezuela has been engulfed by violent riots as opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia announced he has proof he won Sunday's disputed election hours after President Nicolas Maduro claimed he'd secured a third term in power.
Thousands of enraged protesters flooded the streets of the capital and several other cities, chanting 'Freedom, freedom!' and 'This government is going to fall!' as they set fire to tyres and rubbish and organised barricades to block police vehicles.
Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowds but were forced to recoil from Molotov cocktails and rocks hurled by the oncoming demonstrators, many of whom carried Venezuelan flags.
Some ripped Maduro campaign posters from street posts and burned them.
Around the country at least two statues of Hugo Chavez, the late socialist icon who led the country for more than a decade and handpicked Maduro as his successor, were knocked down by protesters.
At least one person was killed amid the protests and 46 more were arrested, according to rights group Foro Penal, which specializes in political prisoner issues.
A demonstrator reacts when Molotov cocktails hit the ground in front of security forces during protests against election results after Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his opposition rival Edmundo Gonzalez claimed victory in Sunday's presidential election, in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela July 29, 2024
A man holds a Venezuelan flag near a barricade on Bolivar Avenue in Caracas, Venezuela
A protestor raises his arms in front of tires on fire in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024, the day after the presidential election
A demonstrator throws back to police a teargas can during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas on July 29, 2024
A protester runs waving a Venezuelan flag during a protest against the official results of the presidential election on July 29, 2024 in Caracas
Police officers remove debris during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas on July 29
Demonstrators set up a barricade during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Valencia, Carabobo state, Venezuela on July 29, 2024
Protesters demonstrate against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection in Valencia, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024
Opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez speaks next to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado during a press conference
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (L) delivers a speech after learning the results of the presidential elections in Caracas, Venezuela, 29 July 2024
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told reporters yesterday that a review of voting records available so far clearly showed that the next president 'will be Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia,' who took her place on the ballot after she was barred by Maduro-aligned courts.
The records showed Gonzalez won 6.27 million votes to only 2.75 million for Maduro, Machado claimed.
Speaking to supporters outside campaign headquarters in Caracas yesterday, Gonzalez appealed for Venezuelans to protest peacefully as he claimed the ballot showed he had won the presidency.
'I speak to you with the calmness of the truth. We have in our hands the tally sheets that demonstrate our categorical and mathematically irreversible victory.'
'A free people is one that is respected, and we are going to fight for our freedom,' Gonzalez said.
'Dear friends, I understand your indignation, but our response from the democratic sectors is of calmness and firmness.'
But his appeal for peaceful protest was not heeded, as eyewitnesses and reporters in the Venezuelan capital said neighbourhoods across the city were wracked by angry demonstrations.
Protests were reported even in very poor areas of Caracas that had been bastions of support for Maduro and his socialist government. Shots were heard in some areas.
'We want freedom. We want Maduro to go. Maduro, leave!,' Marina Sugey, a 42 year-old resident of a poor area of Caracas called Petare, told reporters.
While the protests raged into the night yesterday, President Maduro, 61, attended a meeting Monday at which the National Electoral Council (CNE) certified his reelection to a third six-year term until 2031.
He dismissed international criticism and doubts about the result of Sunday's voting, claiming Venezuela was the target of an attempted 'coup d'etat' of a 'fascist and counter-revolutionary' nature.
Members of the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) and the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) clash with opposition demonstrators during protests over the results of the presidential elections in Caracas, Venezuela, 29 July 2024
Demonstrators set a small police station on fire during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Valencia, state of Carabobo, Venezuela, on July 29, 2024
Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government burn tires during a protest in Valencia, state of Carabobo, Venezuela, on July 29, 2024
Demonstrators burn rubber and objects during a protest against reelection of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for the 3rd term one day after the Venezuelan presidential elections in Caracas
View of a structure of the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) set on fire during protests against the results of the presidential elections on the Prados del Este highway, in Caracas
Demonstrators attend a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Valencia, Carabobo state, Venezuela on July 29, 2024
The shadow of a motorcyclist beams through a barricade on Bolivar Avenue in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29, 2024
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, right, and presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez hold a press conference after electoral authorities declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner of the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 29
Venezuela's reelected president Nicolas Maduro addresses after the results of the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela on July 29, 2024
This weekend's elections were held amid widespread fears of fraud by the government and a campaign tainted by accusations of political intimidation.
Pollsters had predicted a resounding victory for the opposition.
In the early hours of Monday, the CNE said Maduro had won 51.2 percent of votes cast compared to 44.2 percent for Gonzalez Urrutia - but has not provided a detailed breakdown of the result.
The opposition cried foul, prompting Attorney General Tarek William Saab to link opposition leader Machado to an alleged cyber 'attack' seeking to 'adulterate' the results.
The outcome sparked concern and calls for a 'transparent' process from the United Nations, United States, European Union and several countries in Latin America - but allies including China, Russia and Cuba congratulated Maduro.
Gonzalez, a 74-year-old former diplomat, on Monday acknowledged the deep discontent in society with the CNE results and vowed that 'we will fight for our liberty.'
Machado assured Venezuelans that 'the leaders of the world' are validating the results, and called families to turn out Tuesday for 'popular assemblies' nationwide to show support for a peaceful transition of power.
Nine Latin American countries called in a joint statement Monday for a 'complete review of the results with the presence of independent electoral observers.'
The US-based Carter Center, one of a few organisations allowed to bring observers into Venezuela, urged the CNE to immediately publish detailed polling station-level results.
Brazil and Colombia also urged a review of the numbers while Chile's president said the outcome was 'hard to believe.'
Peru recalled its ambassador and Panama said it was suspending relations with Venezuela.
The Organization of American States, based in Washington, called an emergency meeting for Wednesday at the request of Argentina and other countries that challenged the official election tally.
But Maduro's office hit back Monday, saying it was withdrawing diplomatic staff from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay for 'interventionist actions and statements.' It also suspended flights to and from Panama and the Dominican Republic.
Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government burn tires during a protest in Valencia, state of Carabobo, Venezuela, on July 29, 2024
A demonstrator kicks a campaign banner of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during a protest in Valencia, Carabobo state, Venezuela on July 29, 2024
Demonstrators block a street during a protest against the official results of the presidential election on July 29, 2024 in Caracas, Venezuela
Demonstrators burn rubber and objects during a protest against reelection of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for the 3rd term one day after the Venezuelan presidential elections in Caracas, Venezuela on July 29, 2024
Venezuelan citizens gather to wait for the results of the presidential elections
Venezuelans react after the results of the presidential election
Independent polls had predicted Sunday's vote would end 25 years of 'Chavismo,' the populist movement founded by Chavez.
Maduro has been at the helm of the once-wealthy oil-rich country since 2013. The last decade has seen GDP drop by 80 percent, pushing more than seven million of its 30 million citizens to emigrate.
He is accused of locking up critics and harassing the opposition in a climate of rising authoritarianism.
In the run-up to the election, he had warned of a 'bloodbath' if he lost.
Venezuelans vote using electronic machines, which record votes and provide every voter a paper receipt that shows the candidate of their choice. Voters are supposed to deposit their receipt at ballot boxes before exiting the polls.
After polls close, each machine prints a tally sheet showing the candidates' names and the votes they received.
But the ruling party wields tight control over the voting system, both through a loyal five-member electoral council and a network of longtime local party coordinators who get near unrestricted access to voting centres.
Those coordinators, some of whom are responsible for handing out government benefits including subsidised food, have blocked representatives of opposition parties from entering voting centers as allowed by law to witness the voting process, vote counting and, crucially, to obtain a copy of the machines' final tally sheet.
Venezuela sits atop the world's largest oil reserves and once boasted Latin America's most advanced economy.
But after Maduro took the helm, it tumbled into a free fall marked by plummeting oil prices, widespread shortages of basic goods and hyperinflation of 130,000 percent.
US oil sanctions sought to force Maduro from power after his 2018 reelection, which dozens of countries condemned as illegitimate.
But the sanctions only accelerated the exodus of some 7.7 million Venezuelans who have fled their crisis-stricken nation.
Most Venezuelans live on just a few dollars a month, and endure biting shortages of electricity and fuel.
Economic misery in the South American nation has been a major source of migration pressure on the southern border of the United States, where immigration is a major presidential election issue.
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by Biffer Bonker 280