Edmundo González To Be Sworn In As Venezuela President In 2025, Says Leading Opposition Politician

(EurActiv) — María Corina Machado, an opposition party leader, is convinced that Edmundo González, will be sworn Venezuela president on January 10, 2025, despite the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, proclaiming himself the winner of July’s elections. 

“Edmundo González will be the new head of state and the new commander-in-chief of the armed forces. That depends on what all Venezuelans inside and outside the country do (…) I trust the Venezuelan people. That is why I know that on January 10, we will have a new president,” Machado told Euractiv´s partner EFE in an exclusive interview. 

Machado, a former legislator and opposition party leader (which party), reiterated that González, the candidate of the United Democratic Platform (PUD), the biggest opposition party, won the elections “overwhelmingly”, even though the National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner. 

Several countries and international organizations have questioned the officially stated results, the Carter Center, which participated in the elections as an observer, pointed out that the electoral process, “cannot be considered democratic.”

Machado, who remains under protection due to threats against her, criticised the National Electoral Council (CNE) for not publishing the precise results of the elections, contrary to its own timeline, despite numerous requests for transparency from the international community. 

“The biggest fraud in history” 

Basing her statements on the electoral records gathered and published by the opposition Democratic Unitary Platform (Plataforma Unitaria Democrática; PUD), Machado stressed that “the whole world knows” that Maduro lost the election, and is trying to carry out “the biggest fraud in history” by insisting on his victory with the help of the institutions and the military leadership. 

Maduro, “Today has zero legitimacy, no legitimacy at all, and therefore it is a moment in which the international community must draw a clear red line calling for respect for popular sovereignty,” she said. 

Likewise, she expects foreign governments to, “firmly and unequivocally make Maduro understand that (…) using repressive forces against innocent citizens is unacceptable.”

Since July 29, more than 2,400 people have been arrested across the country, with 24 have being killed by pro-regime forces, according to several NGOs. 

Machado also foresees that the voices of protest will continue to grow; she believes it is necessary to, “exert all the necessary pressure so that Maduro understands that his best option is to accept a negotiation,” which he has already publicly discarded. 

The key role of the military 

She believes that the most important task is to make Maduro and the military understand, “that they shall not repress the people,” and “that they must fulfill the constitutional mandate to enforce popular sovereignty.”

“The one who is using military force to prevent the transition is precisely Nicolás Maduro, who has entrenched himself – surrounded by members of the military high command – to ignore the will expressed by the people,” pointing to the military leadership, which has expressed its full support for the current president. 

Machado explained that although the terms of an eventual transition, “are the subject of negotiations,” it is important to highlight “the willingness” of the opposition “to advance along this path,” with Maduro, the military leadership, and civil service officials. 

“It is the best option that Maduro has and perhaps the only one; the pretense of maintaining himself by force, supported exclusively by the use of violence, is not sustainable in today’s Venezuela,” she stressed. 

Increase the pressure 

Machado points out that it is up to her and González to “continue to increase the pressure,” a task they hope to develop with the support of Venezuelans and the international community, so that “civic and peaceful protest are kept alive.”

Asked about the decision to keep her whereabouts secret, despite assurances from the Attorney General’s Office, that there is no warrant for her arrest, she recalled Maduro labelling her a terrorist and asked her to be sent to prison. 

She also pointed out that many other leaders are in hiding because of these “threats”, as the president has called for extreme police and military control. 

“We are all working for the same purpose (…) we are going to win, we are not going to leave the streets, we are going to continue to take this message to the whole world (…) Edmundo González is the elected president,” Machado concluded.