Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has urged Venezuelans to “continue the fight,” on the eve of a mobilization day organized by the opposition to demand their right to win the presidential elections, which Nicolas Maduro has claimed to have won.
In a social media interview with Venezuelan influencers living abroad, Machado stated, “The situation is very serious, but everyone must continue the fight and remain strong.”
The opposition leader, who has been in hiding for about two weeks, added, “All that remains for the regime (…) knowing its true nature has been revealed (…) are lies, repression, violence, and discouragement. Lowering morale is the regime’s strategy.”
The announcement of Maduro’s re-election for a third term sparked spontaneous protests that resulted in the deaths of 25 people, injuries to 192 others, and the arrest of 2400 people, according to official sources.
The opposition, which has organized only one demonstration on August 3rd, has called for mass protests on Saturday across Venezuela and in more than 300 cities abroad. During the last demonstration, Machado arrived at the gathering in a truck and quickly left on a motorcycle.
She added, “Tomorrow is very important (…) it will be a historic day (…) we must unite the country (…) we have united a country and tomorrow is the right time, there’s no turning back, and we’ll move forward together until the end,” urging participation in the protests as one family.
The National Electoral Council ratified Maduro’s victory at the beginning of August with 52% of the votes without providing exact numbers or records from polling stations, claiming that it suffered a cyberattack.
According to the opposition, which published records obtained through its auditors, their candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, who replaced Machado after she was declared ineligible, won the presidential elections with 67% of the votes, a result Maduro rejected.
The opposition and many observers do not believe the hacking claim, considering it as lies to avoid accurately revealing the vote count.
