He will return to Venezuela in January to be president

The date chosen is January 10, the expiry date of the constitutional deadline for taking the oath. The same day as Nicolas Madurolosing an election, is considering doing so. SO González’s main obstacle to strengthening popular will will be the Chavista leader, clinging to power and a policy of terror that sends his opponents to prison, exile or death. Nor does it enjoy the unanimous support of the international community.

It is true that the European Union and the Organization of American States, among others, promoted actions for his recognition as legitimate president of Venezuela. But the support for Maduro from the world’s main autocracies, such as China or Russia, and the ambivalence of neighbors like Mexico, Brazil or Colombia, work against him.

Another doubt remains. A judge controlled by the Chavista apparatus ordered the arrest of González Urrutia before his departure for Spain. The regime will have to decide whether it wishes to go further in its authoritarian drift in the eyes of the rest of the world. The autocrat, however, is yet to comment on the matter.

In any case, González Urrutia took the opportunity to thank Spain for welcoming him and hundreds of thousands of other Venezuelans and to recall the links between the two countries. In your case, explained, it was due to political persecution with “indescribable pressure and extreme threats” against him and his familyin which, he assured, it was the most difficult and demanding chapter of his life.

Now, he says, it is his turn to speak out without strings attached and denounce a “regime” like that of Maduro in Venezuela, which “intimidates, forces society into forced silence and maintains a curfew of communication” somewhat cushioned thanks to digital journalism and social networks.

González described the situation in his country: “On the one hand there is democracy and justice; on the other, authoritarianism and abuse. But there are not two Venezuelas. There is only one, the democratic one, supported by millions of votes obtained in December. July 28 and this precisely demonstrated, after this exemplary civic day, how deeply democratic culture is rooted in the soul of the Venezuelan.”

Raising your voice is what, he commented, corresponds to the responsibility conferred on him by his character as “elected president, recognized by millions of Venezuelans, eight million to be exact, and by a good part of the community international”.

As the July 28 elections are three months away, he stressed that the world knows and recognizes the original minutes which were presented in a transparent manner. And given the “alarming toll of deaths, persecutions and political prisoners” in his country, considered that no one, and especially Spain, can be indifferent.

This is why he considered that the time had come to ask Spain “free, plural, democratic and fully integrated into the EU”, “with more determination than ever”, to put pressure with the international community to that Venezuela affirms and respects the popular position. sovereignty expressed on July 28. González indicated that what Venezuelans want is to abandon personalism, improvisation, intolerance and persecution, and rediscover the value of dialogue and coexistence to contribute to the rapid reconstruction of the image of their country.

An objective against which he defended the reestablishment of diplomatic relations, the reactivation of cooperation agreements and the realization of investments like those of Spain, which he regretted having been drastically reduced. “What we want,” he concluded, “is to save not only our democratic and institutional normality, but also the normality of our economic activity, of our commercial flows.”

“Yes“and will remain in Spain for the rest of his days.”

Chavismo’s response was not long in coming. A few hours after Edmundo González’s statements, the President of the Parliament of Venezuela, Jorge Rodriguezsaid that Spain will have to deal with the opposition leader “for the rest of his days”.

“They will have to deal with this absurdity for the rest of their lives, with one of the most cowardly and despicable beings known in the history of stateless people,” Rodríguez wrote on his Instagram profile.

Rodríguez accused the opponent of constantly lying, particularly regarding his departure from Venezuela and estimated that the 75-year-old former diplomat “violates asylum rules”, after having formally requested this protection mechanism from Spain.