Almost four months have passed since the July 28 presidential election, an event that marked a before and after in the political landscape of Venezuela.
Correspondent lapatilla.com
It is no secret to anyone everything that happened around the results of the elections. On the one hand, the ruling party declared itself the winner without showing the official records (acts, minutes) of every polling station by the National Electoral Council (CNE), while the opposition led by Edmundo González Urrutia and María Corina Machado demonstrated that it had the proof of its victory showing more the 80% of the official signed copies.
After the electoral process, Nicolás Maduro’s regime resorted to repression, persecution and imprisonment against anyone and everyone who tried to defend the results, as well as citizens who did not even protest or were involved in political events. According to experts, this procedure only weakened its position internationally and increased its rejection within the country.
All this, added to factors such as the return of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States, makes the national leader of Vente Venezuela, Omar González Moreno, think that “Maduro’s regime is a time bomb with a short fuse.”
González Moreno, who today this November 20th, is still sheltered in the shuttered Argentine embassy after around eight months (which is now under the protection of the Brazilian government), believes that what happened on July 28th put an end to more than two decades of Chavismo and it is only a matter of time before this finally happens.
What is on the horizon
According to the experienced political leader, there are several scenarios that could unfold in the time remaining before January 10th, the date on which, according to the National Constitution, the president-elect of Venezuela must be sworn in for the constitutional period beginning in 2025.
“First of all, it must be made clear that with respect to Edmundo González Urrutia, the only option is for him to be sworn at the Legislative Palace. It is not contemplated that this act will take place elsewhere,” González emphasized.
He also raised the possibility that Venezuelan society may have a spontaneous uprising, considering that the country’s economic situation is unbearable and that basic services are woefully deficient, as is access to public health.
“We must mention the electrical collapse that is being seen, with special attention to what is happening in the state of Nueva Esparta. There they endure more than 20 hours a day without electricity due to the inoperability of the Luisa Cáceres de Arismendi plant, since it is fed (Natural gas) by the Muscar plant (Monagas State) that caught fire days ago,” he commented.
Likewise, he affirmed that the discomfort of the members of the National Armed Forces, who are also victims of the country’s problems, cannot be ignored.
“The best alternative that Maduro has is to negotiate with María Corina and Edmundo. If he (Maduro) is sworn in on January 10th would turn Venezuela into hell,” said the journalist in a forceful manner.
González Moreno added that the fact that the European Council is evaluating sanctions against the current president of Venezuela and his accomplices should not be ignored. In addition, he pointed out that Maduro has lost loyal allies such as Gustavo Petro and Luis Inácio Lula Da Silva, the presidents of Colombia and Brazil, respectively, in addition to the Government of Mexico.
“And let’s not rule out that (Vladimir) Putin does the same, as happened at the BRICS summit when he took the chair from him,” he said.
Release of some prisoners
Regarding the release of 143 political prisoners -according to Foro Penal- in recent days, González said that it is positive for families and young people, most of them detained in the post-election context.
However, he stressed that the aspiration is to free the almost 2,000 people who remain deprived of liberty for issues linked to politics.
He also said that, in his opinion, there are several factors that could have influenced this step back by Maduro and his gang. Among these he cited as an example the death of Jesús Martínez Medina, who was a (polling station) witness at a table in Aragua de Barcelona, Anzoátegui state, and died as a political prisoner.
It is worth noting that “Manolín” had health complications and was not treated in time. He suffered from heart problems and type II diabetes, which worsened while he was in captivity until he died at the Luis Razetti Hospital in Barcelona.
“Another factor is that it was a response to international pressure. Nicolás Maduro’s regime is terrified by Trump’s victory and his appointments, such as Marco Rubio as Secretary of State,” he said.
He added that the regime’s own weakening behind closed doors is another decisive point. “For a long time they were careful not to make their internal wars public, but these are already evident.”
Surgical repression
Finally, the national leader of Vente Venezuela said that what Maduro and the political prisoners are doing is a surgical repression (targeted) to send specific messages.
“There are journalists detained to try to suppress freedom of expression. There are also arrest warrants against leaders of parties of the Unitary Platform and the persecution of María Corina Machado continues, although she remains in the country,” he indicated.
He also spoke of the hunt for key elements in Machado’s team such as Henry Alviarez, who they managed to arrest on March 20th. González recalled that they also had him in their sights that day, but he was able to take refuge in the Argentine embassy.
He stressed that despite his asylum status, he continues to fulfill some responsibilities within the political organization whose main leader is María Corina Machado.
He concluded by expressing his optimism that the situation in Venezuela will appear on the agenda for the so-called G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and that, among other things, the safe-conduct passes will be obtained so that he and the rest of the leaders who remain in the Argentine embassy can leave the country safely.