“It has been an honour”: Mariano Rajoy met with Edmundo González
He Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia met this Friday in Madrid with Mariano Rajoy, former president of the Spanish government.
«It has been an honor to welcome the president-elect of Venezuela, Edmundo González Urrutia,” Rajoy said in a message published on X, which he accompanied with photographs of the meeting.
The leader of the Popular Party added that Edmundo González and “all Venezuelan democrats have my admiration and my unwavering support.”
This meeting takes place one day after the President of the Spanish Government and Socialist leader, Pedro Sánchez, received Edmundo González at the Moncla Palace.
It has been an honor to welcome the President-elect of Venezuela, Edmundo González Urrutia. He and all Venezuelan democrats have my admiration and unwavering support. pic.twitter.com/dLxO4nHGRO
— Mariano Rajoy Brey (@marianorajoy) September 13, 2024
After The conversation with the opposition leader in exileSánchez assured that his country will continue working in favor of democracy and the fundamental rights of Venezuelans.
He reiterated that by granting asylum to the Venezuelan opposition Spain demonstrates its “humanitarian commitment and solidarity” with Venezuelans.
Edmundo Gonzalez in Spain
González Urrutia arrived in Madrid on Sunday on a Spanish Air Force plane to request political asylum after denouncing fraud in the presidential elections held in July in Venezuela. Since then the Spanish government is under pressure from the opposition to recognise him as the elected president of Venezuela.
On Wednesday, the Congress of Deputies approved a proposal from the opposition demanding that it recognize him as the winner of the elections and president of Venezuela.
Presented by the conservative Popular Party (PP) and approved by a vote of 177 deputies to 164, the proposal also calls on Sánchez to “lead the recognition of Edmundo González in European institutions and international bodies, with the aim of ensuring that he takes office as the new president of Venezuela on January 10, 2025.”
However, Sánchez reiterated the Executive’s position during his recent visit to China: “The Spanish government has been clear since the elections. We have asked for the minutes to be published, we have not recognised Nicolás Maduro’s victory.”
“And we are doing something very important: working for unity in the European Union so that this work for the unity of the European Union allows us to have room for mediation between now and the end of the year so that we can find a solution that conveys the democratic will expressed at the polls by the Venezuelan people,” he added.
Independent journalism needs the support of its readers to continue and ensure that uncomfortable news that they don’t want you to read remains within your reach. Today, with your support, we will continue working hard for censorship-free journalism!