‘The whole world knows’: Venezuela opposition leader questions Maduro’s presidency - Video
Venezuela's opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, has intensified her criticism of President Nicolas Maduro, accusing him of lacking legitimacy ahead of his swearing-in for a third term on Friday, January 10.
Maduro, 62, won a contentious July 2024 election, which the opposition and several international actors claim was rigged.
"All the regime has left is fear," Machado stated in a phone interview with AFP on Monday, January 6, asserting that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia is the rightful president-elect. "The whole world knows," she added.
Maduro, who succeeded Hugo Chavez in 2013, faces limited international recognition for his electoral victory. The United States, G7 nations, and several Latin American countries have backed Gonzalez Urrutia, a 75-year-old ex-diplomat who replaced Machado as the opposition candidate after she was barred from running.
Gonzalez Urrutia fled to Spain in September following threats of arrest after the opposition released election results claiming his victory.
On Monday, he met with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington to rally international support against Maduro's administration.
Machado, who has remained in hiding since the election, has called for mass protests on Thursday, a day before Maduro's inauguration. She pledged to join the demonstrations herself, urging Venezuelans to confront their fears.
"If we all come out, millions, how can a few hundred or a few thousand armed people prevail against 30 million Venezuelans? In the end, the only way to be free is to overcome fear," she told AFP.
However, mobilising large-scale protests may prove challenging. In July, riots erupted after Maduro declared victory, leaving 26 people dead and nearly 200 injured.
Authorities arrested over 2,400 individuals during the crackdown, with nearly half still in custody, according to official records.
