Venezuelans ask to recognize Edmundo as president
Thousands of Venezuelans gathered this Saturday, September 28, at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain, to demand freedom for the country and that Edmundo González Urrutia be recognized as the elected president of Venezuela.
The demonstration is one of dozens held by the Venezuelan diaspora around the world, two months after the presidential elections that the opposition claims to have won, with the voting records to prove it.
Among those attending the protest, Antonio Ledezmaformer mayor of Caracas, who denounced that the administration of Nicolás Maduro unleashed a “manhunt” against the opponents.
«The people of Venezuela are determined to make effective the victory we achieved on July 28. The important thing is that people are aware that the question is not what we are going to do on January 10 but what each of us Venezuelans have to do in the place where we are,” said Ledezma.
“The people of Venezuela are determined to make effective the victory we achieved on July 28”: Antonio Ledezma (@alcaldeledezma) at this Saturday’s rally at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain. https://t.co/fcFbGKyUWQ pic.twitter.com/kQdTdNR4HR
— NTN24 (@NTN24) September 28, 2024
One of the demands of Venezuelans is the release of all political prisoners, which according to the NGO Foro Penal number 1,867 people.
Santiago Rocha Cipriani, son of Perkins Rochaa detained lawyer and spokesman for the Democratic Unitary Platform, raised his voice in defense of all political prisoners.
«It’s not just my dad who has been in prison for a month. There are many (…) The truth is that political prisoners are all Venezuelans who think differently and who want to say so.«, he expressed to NTN24.
A Venezuelan interviewed by The Debateand commented: «I came here to support my elected president Edmundo González. The whole world has to recognize it. “The whole world has to support Venezuela to achieve total freedom for the country.”
The protest resonates around the world
The “Great World Protest» is reported from places as remote as Reunion Island, in the Indian Ocean, to large cities with thousands of Venezuelan residents like Madrid. Due to the time difference, there are demonstrations that had not yet begun at the time of writing this note.
The protests, according to reports spread on social networks, have occurred in the cities of Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth, in Australia (where they began first), as well as in Turkey, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Croatia, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Senegal, New Zealand, Japan, Canada and Lithuania, among others.
Venezuelans are beginning to arrive at today’s rally at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain. https://t.co/fcFbGKyUWQ pic.twitter.com/ivSMZOson0
— NTN24 (@NTN24) September 28, 2024
Spain between half-recognition
The Government of Spain still does not recognize Edmundo González as the elected president of Venezuela, although it hopes that the will expressed in the elections will triumph, despite the fact that the Spanish Congress did make the recognition.
The Spanish position was ratified on Friday in New York by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, at a press conference to take stock of the series of meetings and events that he has attended on the occasion of the High Level Week of the UN.
Independent journalism needs the support of its readers to continue and ensure that the uncomfortable news they don’t want you to read remains within your reach. Today, with your support, we will continue working hard for censorship-free journalism!