María Corina Machado says that the request for Edmundo González’s arrest “crosses a new line that only strengthens” the opposition
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado stated on his X profile (ex-Twitter), on Monday (2.Sep.2024), which was lost “the whole notion of reality”. The statement was made after the country’s justice system ordered the arrest of Edmundo González Urrutia (Democratic Unitary Platform, center-right), the main opposition candidate to President Nicolás Maduro (United Socialist Party of Venezuela, left).
STF (Supreme Federal Court) Minister Alexandre de Moraes ordered the suspension of X in Brazil. However, Brazilians abroad continue to have normal access to the platform. This is how this digital newspaper read the messages posted by María Corina and replicates them in this text, as they are of public interest and have journalistic relevance.
“They have lost all sense of reality. By threatening the president-elect, they are only succeeding in uniting us more and increasing the support of Venezuelans and the world for Edmundo González. Serenity, courage and firmness. We move forward.”, wrote María Corina.
In other publication, she said: “Maduro has completely lost touch with reality. The arrest warrant issued by the regime to threaten President-elect Edmundo Gonzalez crosses a new line that only strengthens the resolve of our movement.. Venezuelans and democracies around the world are more united than ever in our quest for freedom”.
The warrant was issued after González failed to comply with three subpoenas from the Public Prosecutor’s Office to clarify the disclosure of electoral records (ballot box bulletins) – used by the opposition to claim the victory of the opposition candidate in the presidential election. He did not comply with the requests on the grounds that there was “lack of guarantees” to your safety.
González, 75, has not been seen in public since July 30, when he attended a demonstration with supporters demanding recognition of his victory in the July 28 election.
To preserve his integrity, González has remained hidden ever since.
The court accepted the request made by the Public Prosecutor’s Office on Monday (2nd September). The agency accuses the diplomat of:
- usurpation of functions;
- forgery of public document;
- incitement to disobey Venezuelan laws;
- computer crimes; and
- criminal association and conspiracy.
However, in practice, the arrest warrant is because González and representatives of his party collected ballot papers in 83.5% of the polling stations and then published the accounting shown by these documents.
These records are the same as those issued by voting machines in Brazil. They are a summary of how many votes each candidate received in the ballot box that issues the document. All parties are authorized to have representatives in the polling stations and to keep a copy of the ballots.
VENEZUELA UNDER MADURO
Venezuela lives under an autocracy led by Nicholas Mature61 years old. There is no freedom of the press. People can be arrested for “political crimes”. OAS published notice in May 2021 (PDF – 179 kB) regarding the “illegitimate appointment” of the National Electoral Council. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reported abuses in October 2022 (PDF – 150 kB), November 2022 (PDF – 161 kB) and March 2023 (PDF – 151 kB). Report from Human Rights Watch disclosed in 2023 (PDF – 5 MB) states that 7.1 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2014.
Maduro denies that the country is under a dictatorship. He says that there are regular elections and that the opposition simply cannot win.
The presidential elections carried out on July 28, 2024 are contested by part of the international community. The main opposition leader, Maria Corina, was prevented in June 2023 to hold public office for 15 years. The Venezuelan Supreme confirmed the decision in January 2024. He claimed “administrative irregularities” that were allegedly committed when she was a deputy, from 2011 to 2014, and by “corruption plot” for supporting Juan Guaidó.
Corina indicated the ally Corina Yoris to compete. However, Yoris was unable to formalize the application because of an alleged failure in the electoral system. The diplomat Edmund Gonzalez assumed the role of being the main opposition candidate.
The government-controlled National Electoral Council of Venezuela, announced on July 28, 2024 Maduro’s victory. The body confirmed the result on August 2, 2024, but did not release the ballots. The Venezuelan Supreme Court of Justice, controlled by the current regime, said on August 22, 2024 that the ballots will not be released.
The Carter Center, a respected organization created by former US President USA Jimmy Carter, considered that the elections in Venezuela “were not democratic”. Read the full (in English – PDF – 107 kB) of the statement.
The results have been repeatedly contested by the European Union and several individual countries, including the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay. Brazil has not yet recognized Maduro’s election in 2024, but it has not made tougher demands like other countries that point to fraud in the process. The president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) even said he had not seen anything abnormal in the country’s election.
Human Rights Watch criticized Presidents Lula, Gustavo Petro (Colombia) and Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Mexico) in August 2024. In a letter sent to the three, they stated that they needed to reconsider their positions on Venezuela and criticized the leaders’ proposals to resolve the impasse, such as a new election and a general amnesty. Read the full of the document (PDF – 2 MB).
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