Venezuelan opposition chief Edmundo Gonzalez has fled to Spain, in search of political asylum amid turmoil in his nation after a disputed presidential election.
The opposition presidential candidate arrived on the Torrejon de Ardoz army base within the Spanish capital, Madrid, together with his spouse on Sunday, in line with an announcement by Spain’s Ministry of International Affairs.
Gonzalez, who has accused President Nicolas Maduro of election fraud, fled the nation after an arrest warrant was issued final week as a part of an intensified authorities crackdown on the opposition.
Right here is what’s going on in Venezuela and what’s subsequent:
What occurred in Venezuela?
The Nationwide Electoral Council stated Maduro gained re-election with 51 percent of the vote – his third win since he first took over as president in 2013 after the loss of life of his mentor and charismatic President Hugo Chavez. The United Socialist Occasion has been in energy for the previous 25 years.
However the opposition stated the outcomes of the July 28 election had been rigged. It stated its volunteers obtained 73 p.c of the tally sheets issued by digital voting machines they usually confirmed Gonzalez was the actual winner of the election. Maduro gained 30 p.c of the vote, it stated.
Protests erupted, demanding the discharge of election results by particular person polling stations.
Maduro’s authorities has as an alternative cracked down on the opposition protesters and leaders, forcing many to take refuge in international embassies. Not less than 24 folks have been killed and about 2,400 folks arrested in relation to the protests, in line with Human Rights Watch.
Venezuelan safety forces at the moment are encircling the Argentinian embassy in Caracas as six opposition leaders search asylum inside.
Gonzalez was in hiding for a month, in search of refuge within the Dutch embassy within the Venezuelan capital, adopted by the Spanish embassy.
Who’s Edmundo Gonzalez?
Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, 75, a retired diplomat, was thrust into the political highlight when the opposition Unitary Platform selected him to problem Maduro after the primary opposition candidate, Maria Corina Machado, was barred from working. He isn’t affiliated with any occasion.
Gonzalez had served in diplomatic positions in El Salvador, the US and Belgium earlier than being appointed as Venezuela’s ambassador to Algeria in 1991.
Why did Gonzalez search asylum in Spain?
Gonzalez left for Spain out of considerations for his security after he was charged with incitement to sedition and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
“His life was at risk, and the growing threats, summons, arrest warrants and even makes an attempt at blackmail and coercion to which he has been subjected show that the regime has no scruples and no limits in its obsession with silencing him and attempting to subdue him,” Machado wrote in an X submit on Sunday.
Gonzalez himself echoed this in an audio recording launched by the opposition on Sunday by which he stated: “My departure from Caracas was surrounded by episodes of strain, coercion and threats of not permitting my departure.”
May he lead in exile?
It seems that Gonzalez will proceed to be a pacesetter within the opposition in exile, a minimum of for now.
“Edmundo will struggle from outdoors alongside our diaspora and I’ll proceed to take action right here, alongside you,” Machado wrote in her Sunday X submit.
Carlos Pina, a Venezuelan political scientist, informed Al Jazeera that Gonzalez, even overseas, may be “a megaphone for the opposition’s calls for, so I imagine the struggle can proceed”.
What’s subsequent for the opposition in Venezuela?
“With the exile of Gonzalez, a brand new stage within the postelectoral wrestle of the opposition begins. That’s clear,” Pina stated.
Gonzalez leaving, “from a political standpoint, might have a value for the opposition within the sense that their predominant chief is, to place it crudely, abandoning the ship,” Pina stated.
It’s important for Machado to remain in Venezuela, he added, explaining that it is because whereas Machado and Gonzalez have assist from many among the many Venezuelan public, there’s no assure that backing will final until the opposition retains its marketing campaign energetic.
Pina stated the opposition “should attempt to redefine its methods, preserve the mobilisation alive, preserve the political wrestle and the strain for the federal government to point out the electoral information”.
Unitary Platform contains 10 events, starting from centre left to centre proper.
What’s the authorities saying?
Venezuela’s authorities stated it has allowed Gonzalez to depart for “political peace” within the nation. It has not offered any additional details about why Gonzalez was allowed to depart.
Legal professional Common Tarek William Saab claimed on Sunday that Gonzalez’s departure from Venezuela is a results of strain from Machado’s occasion.
Saab informed CNN that Gonzalez was “pressured to make choices” by the opposition coalition. “There’s an absolute fracture in that extremist opposition,” he stated.
Is Maduro more and more remoted within the area?
Assist for Maduro in South America appears to have dwindled, Vanessa Neumann, a former Venezuelan ambassador to the UK, informed Al Jazeera.
“It’s very fascinating that the Spanish president put him [Gonzalez] on a aircraft and granted him asylum,” she stated, declaring that Spain has a leftist authorities.
Neumann added that Maduro can be having a dispute with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, “considered one of his greatest pals”, after Venezuela on Saturday revoked Brazil’s authorisation to handle and characterize the Argentinian embassy. Earlier, Maduro had expelled Argentinian diplomatic personnel from Venezuela after the Argentinian authorities questioned the election outcomes.
“Should you’re legitimately elected, standing beside a repressive dictator who imprisons the opposition and gained’t publish the outcomes of the election shouldn’t be an excellent look. I feel it’s beginning to fracture the left [in the region],” Neumann stated.
Pina agreed, saying, “I feel speaking in regards to the Latin American left as if it had been a single entity may be very troublesome in the meanwhile.”
The leftist governments of Chile, Brazil and Colombia have known as on Maduro to publish the election outcomes, however Cuba and Nicaragua, staunch opponents of the US within the area, have thrown their weight behind Maduro.
Officers from Cuba, Honduras and Bolivia congratulated Maduro on social media after the election. “The folks spoke and the Revolution gained,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote on X.
On August 26, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega provided to ship “Sandinista fighters” in assist of Maduro in case Maduro wished to mobilise armed “counterrevolutionary” forces.
Venezuela has additionally acquired strong assist from China and Russia. Each Moscow and Beijing congratulated Maduro on his election victory.
What are the reactions to Gonzalez leaving Venezuela?
The US and European Union don’t recognise Maduro’s win and as an alternative maintain the idea that Gonzalez is the true winner.
- EU international coverage chief Josep Borrell stated in an announcement: “In a democracy, no political chief needs to be pressured to hunt asylum overseas.”
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken known as Gonzalez the final hope for democracy in an X submit. “We should not let Maduro and his representatives cling to energy by power.”
- The Group of American States, a regional organisation aligned with the US, stated on Sunday that Gonzalez was pressured into exile.
- Spanish International Minister Jose Manuel Albares informed Spanish media that he informed Gonzalez he’s happy the Venezuelan opposition chief is arriving and “I reiterated the dedication of our authorities to the political rights of all Venezuelans.”