Even in Scotland the voice of Venezuelans resounded against Maduro’s fraud

This Saturday, September 28, two months after the presidential elections, Venezuelans abroad went to the “Great World Protest” called by the opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado. In Scotland, a group of Venezuelans gathered in Edinburgh at 5:30 pm at the Royal Academy Square. They showed up with flags and banners that said “Freedom for Venezuela.”

Protesters gathered in the Scottish capital to demand justice for crimes against humanity committed by the Chavista regime, the recognition of Edmundo González Urrutia as president-elect and for Nicolás Maduro to hand over power on January 10, 2025.

In Scotland, the Venezuelan community is small. It is estimated that in 2018 there were about 2,000 Venezuelans in the country. But in the United Kingdom there are around 25,000 Venezuelans in total.

In more than 460 cities around the world, thousands of people demonstrated to demand international recognition of González Urrutia as the winner of the election.

After the July 28 elections, the National Electoral Council (CNE) awarded victory to Maduro without publishing results, while the Democratic Unitary Platform demonstrated that González Urrutia obtained a resounding victory by publishing almost 80% of the minutes.

The protest in Edinburgh culminated with the singing of the Venezuelan national anthem, which was accompanied on the cuatro by maestro Hugo Zuleta García. Photo: Isabella Lapadula

Why did Venezuelans protest in Scotland?

Pedro Luis Guarema Paniccia, 31, was present at the demonstration and said that it is important to participate in the protest because as a Venezuelan, he wants justice for his country.

He has lived in Scotland for 10 years and stated that it is the “responsibility” of “the eight million Venezuelans (in exile) is to say enough is enough.”

“I think that the diaspora has a fundamental role in what is happening now in Venezuela,” he indicated.

For Nicole, another protester in Edinburgh this Saturday, these post-election protests have been “the first time (she has) been able to go out to protest against the regime.”

Nicole is 23 years old and arrived in Edinburgh in 2019. The protests she remembers most are those from 2017: “I was 16 years old. “My mother locked me in the house because she was very afraid that something was going to happen to me or my sisters.”

“It is empowering to be able to feel that I finally have a voice in the face of the corruption of this government that we never elected,” he explained.

Being abroad gives Venezuelans a little more security in the face of censorship and repression, but Nicole asked to identify herself only with her first name, as a precaution.

As difficult as these last two months have been, Nicole and Pedro feel that these protests have made them reconnect with Venezuela.

“It breaks you a little that there is a need to have to protest, however, it is very nice to have that reconnection again that I, at least, had lost not only the Venezuelan community, but the culture as well,” he said. Nicole.

Pedro hopes “that freedom is not costly,” but he is convinced that soon, “Venezuela will return to democracy.”

The protest in Edinburgh culminated with the singing of the Venezuelan national anthem, which was accompanied on the cuatro by maestro Hugo Zuleta García.

By Isabella Lapadula, Latin America Reports.