MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

María Corina Machado calls for mass protests against Maduro in Venezuela

‘Freedom cannot be begged for, it can be fought for and won. We cannot achieve change if we are paralysed’, she said

Opposition leader María Corina Machado on Sunday called for a day of demonstrations on Thursday, January 9 in Venezuela, the eve of Nicolás Maduro's swearing-in for a third term, amid allegations of electoral fraud.

‘That day will go down in history as the day Venezuela said: this is enough,’ Machado declared in a video posted on social media. From underground, the leader urged Venezuelans to take to the streets and fight for democracy. ‘Freedom cannot be begged for, it can be fought for and won. We cannot achieve change if we are paralysed’, she said.

The call comes in a climate of tension following last July's presidential elections, the results of which have been widely questioned. The National Electoral Council proclaimed, without evidence, Maduro's re-election for a third term (2025-2031), but the opposition, led by Edmundo González Urrutia, claims he won the elections. The opposition has published copies of the minutes that would conclusively support his victory, although Chavismo denies their validity.

Ésta es la señal. Éste es el día!

El día que unimos nuestra bandera en un solo grito de LIBERTAD!

Venezuela te necesita.
A todos, JUNTOS. A TODOS!

Yo voy contigo.
Este 9 de enero, TODOS a las calles, en Venezuela y el mundo.

GLORIA AL BRAVO PUEBLO! pic.twitter.com/sbCIYWAxuG

— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) January 5, 2025

A divided and fearful people

Opposition protests lost momentum amid widespread fear following the repression of demonstrations that erupted against Maduro's proclamation as the winner of the election, which left 28 people dead and some 200 injured, as well as 2,400 arrested. Despite this, the opposition leader maintains her discourse of resistance: ‘Maduro is not going to go alone, we have to make him leave with the strength of a people that will never surrender’.

Meanwhile, Edmundo González Urrutia, who has been on an international tour in search of support, has promised to return to the country to assume the presidency. ‘I'm going with you,’ Machado said in a direct message to the former candidate she endorsed.

A country waiting for answers

The lack of transparency in the vote count and the silence of the National Electoral Council aggravate the crisis of legitimacy in Venezuela. January 10 is the date on which the presidential term that Maduro assumed in 2018 ends, so the scenario of a power vacuum is tangible.

Thursday will be a litmus test for the opposition's ability to mobilise and the response of the Maduro regime, which has so far used force to maintain control.