2024-07-31 00:42:56
Dozens of Venezuelans gathered in Miami to demonstrate against the inability to vote in the presidential elections of his country. The withdrawal of Venezuelan diplomatic representations in the United States, ordered by the government of Nicolas Maduro Following the breakdown of relations with Washington in 2019, thousands of citizens have been left without the option of exercising their right to vote.
The protest took place in the Brickell neighborhood, in front of the building that previously housed the Venezuelan consulate, now converted into a bank. Among the protesters, many of them wrapped in Venezuelan flagsit was Adelys Ferro, Executive Director of the Venezuelan American Caucus, who denounced that “in this building we should be voting, but the criminal dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro stole our right to vote. What they will never steal from us is the right to protest against him.”
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Ferro argued that the Venezuelan government could have voting enabled in the United States, even without diplomatic delegations, but chose not to do so.
These presidential elections are crucial, as they will define between the continuity of chavismowhich has been in power for 25 years, and the possibility of a united opposition victory.
Most protesters believe that Maduro will respect the results of the elections, whatever they may be, despite suspicions of fraud in his re-election six years ago.
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Maduro, 61, is seeking a third term six years in the midst of a severe economic crisis that has shrunk GDP by 80% in the last decade and led to the exodus of more than seven million people. His main rival is diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia, 74, who represents the popular opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, politically disqualified.
Approximately 1,000 people live in the United States 640 thousand Venezuelansaccording to 2021 Pew Research Center data, of which 47% are in Florida. The Venezuelan community abroad remains a key component in the fight for democracy and change in their home country.
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2024-07-31 00:42:56