What’s next for the Venezuelan opposition after the exile of Edmundo González?: “He will take office as president on January 10”

On Monday, Gonzalez published a statement where He called on the dialogue and stated that the decision to leave his country and go into exile in Spain took it because The fate of Venezuelans “cannot, should not be, one of a conflict of pain and suffering.”

LOOK: Does Maduro win or lose with Edmundo González Urrutia’s political asylum in Spain?

“Only the politics of dialogue can make us meet again… Only democracy and the realization of the popular will can be the path to our future as a country. and I will remain committed to this,” he said.

He expressed that his departure from Venezuela It should be taken as “a gesture that reaches out to everyone” and “as such, it should be reciprocated.”

“I did it so that things change and we build a new stage for Venezuela“, the opponent insisted.

“I think first of all of the people deprived of their liberty who have supported me. Your freedom is my top priority, an unwavering requirement,” he added.

On Sunday, the press team of Gonzalez He released a voice message in which he promised to continue “the fight to achieve freedom and the recovery of democracy in Venezuela”.

While Machado said on Monday that he will remain in his country.

“I don’t know if Edmundo’s departure will change anything from a perspective that could increase the risk for me, but in any case I have decided to stay in Venezuela and support the fight from here while he does so from abroad,” she said at a virtual event.

“We all know that Edmundo González Urrutia is the president-elect of Venezuela“, Machado insisted. “And it will be so whether I am in Venezuela or anywhere else in the world.”

“In the circumstances in which I was in Venezuela, I could not perform all my functions,” the leader continued. “Absolutely nothing changes: the legitimacy remains, the strategy remains.”

Following the July 28 elections, opposition polling station witnesses had access to more than 81% of the official minutes, where Gonzalez Urrutia He achieved a clear victory with 67% of the votes against 30% of the Ripe.

However, the National Electoral Council (CNE) proclaimed the winner Ripe with 52% of the votes. It should be noted that the authority has not yet published the voting records table by table, as required by law, arguing that its systems were the target of a hack on July 28.

Before leaving VenezuelaGonzález had been accused by the Chavista prosecutor’s office of “disobedience of laws”, “conspiracy”, “usurpation of functions” and “sabotage” after not having appeared at three summons and A court with jurisdiction over terrorism ordered his arrest.

“Edmundo González will take office as Government”

What will happen to the opposition? Oscar Perezpresident of the Venezuelan Union in Peru and politically persecuted by Chavismo, said The Trade that the “necessary” exile of Gonzalez “it does not change at all the decision of the Venezuelan people who elected him as their president on July 28 and He must formally take office on January 10”.

He considered that Gonzalez He went into exile in the face of threats that could even have resulted in an attack on his physical integrity or life.

“For us it is much more important to have the President-elect in exile, telling the world what really happened in Venezuelawhile Maria Corina Machado “He continues to articulate the popular mobilization within the country. This is a defeat for Nicolás Maduro, who has had to allow Edmundo to leave without hesitation, which has also revealed that in Venezuela the rule of law and freedom are being violated,” he said.

“What we need to do is continue moving forward in the same direction that we have been leading.” Maria Corina Machadowhich is the undisputed leader of this entire process that will lead us towards transition, democracy and freedom. We remain convinced that Edmundo González will take office on January 10 of the Government,” he insisted.

According to Pérez, for the transition to occur in Venezuela Factors such as international pressure against fraud, the mobilization of the people, the active participation of the 8 million Venezuelans who are abroad and the internal breakdown of the regime must come together.

“If anything is imperative and necessary at this time, it is to provide guarantees to those who still accompany the president in power. Nicolas MaduroI am referring to public officials and members of the Armed Forces. Amnesty levels must be guaranteed for some of them. They must understand that in a transition to a government of Edmundo González Urrutia their rights will be respected, as will the legal prerogatives to which they wish to access, and that at no time will the new government carry out a witch hunt because that is not what is betting on in the interest of national reconciliation,” he said.

“We already know that at this moment there are officials of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela who are building bridges to the democratic sectors of the country seeking some kind of guarantee that there will be no persecution against them in the event that they decide to step aside and leave Nicolás Maduro alone in this adventure that he leads,” he concluded.

“The big question is what will happen to Maria Corina”

Andres CanizalezVenezuelan writer, journalist and university researcher, told The Trade that González’s exile is a symbolic defeat for the opposition.

“After the elections, the role of Edmund inside and outside Venezuela had been left in a sort of second place. It is now known that From July 30th he was hosted by the Dutch embassyHis public role took a backseat and the figure of Maria Corina Machado“, he explained Canizalez.

“Symbolically, within Venezuela This is seen as a triumph for the Maduro government, because it was pushing him in that direction and he finally ended up asking for asylum for very respectable reasons from a human point of view, but from a political point of view it gives the government an advantage,” he said.

The analyst considered that In Venezuela, the demand for respect for the popular will expressed in the elections will continue.

“Now, the fact that Edmundo Gonzalez being out of the country could favor the opposition in terms of the diplomatic efforts that he can make in person with many leaders of Europe, the United States, Canada, etc. I think that will be positive from a strategic point of view,” he noted.

On the unity of the opposition, Canizalez He said that “we must see how Edmundo’s decision is interpreted in the fragile ecosystem of the Venezuelan opposition. Something that was very positive about González’s presence as a candidate is that he managed to unite very dissimilar forces. Let’s say that the main figure is María Corina, but other people joined Edmundo’s candidacy. We must see if, while he is out of the country, this sort of opposition amalgam, fragile but working in unity, is maintained,” he said.

“Without a doubt, many things can happen between now and January, including others that could be worse for the opposition. Here The big question that is also beginning to float is what will happen to María Corina Machadoif the Government, in this circumstance, believes that it has scored a point and is trying to push the situation to the limit so that she goes into exile. What has happened opens that door. Will the Government also play that card? I am not sure. She has insisted a lot that she is not going to go abroad or take refuge in an embassy,” he said.