Venezuela’s opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, is calling on the United States to increase its support for the country’s democratic movement, as President Nicolas Maduro continues to consolidate power despite allegations of electoral fraud. Machado’s plea comes as the opposition party claims to have evidence of Maduro’s defeat in the July presidential election, which the president has refused to acknowledge.
“We need the United States to do much more to help us apply pressure on Maduro,” Machado said during a press conference on Thursday. “We have been very clear about this to the US and other countries.” Machado argued that the US could take additional steps to hold Maduro accountable for his actions, including recognizing the opposition’s claims of electoral victory.
The opposition party claims to have obtained 70% of the voters’ tally sheets from the election, which they say show that Maduro lost by a significant margin. They argue that the rightful winner of the election is Edmundo Gonzalez, the candidate of the Democratic Unitary Platform. The opposition has been organizing mass protests throughout the country since the election, which have been met with a heavy-handed response from the Maduro regime.
The international community has also expressed concerns about the legitimacy of the election. In August, the US Department of State released a statement criticizing the Maduro regime, which was signed by 21 other countries, including Argentina, Chile, Canada, Italy, and the European Union. The statement called for the immediate publication of all original electoral records and the impartial verification of the results by an international entity.
The European Union has also declared that it will not recognize the “democratic legitimacy” of Maduro’s government in Venezuela. “We cannot accept the legitimacy of Maduro as elected president,” said Josep Borrell, vice president of the European Commission. “He will remain president, de facto… But we deny democratic legitimacy based on a result that cannot be verified.”
Machado suggested that one way the US could help would be to recognize Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner of the election and engage in diplomatic relations with the country as if Gonzalez were president. She also called on Europe and the UK to take similar action. “Everyone knows that Edmundo Gonzalez is the president-elect,” Machado said. “I certainly think they should recognize Edmundo Gonzalez for what he is.”
