Maria Corina Machado ” said in a series of conferences of the NEOS Foundation at the Mutua in Madrid under the title “The State is me. The path to the Bolivarization of Spain” that the fight of the opposition in Venezuela “is a fight for life, for truth and for good, that is why we are going to win”. At this event, we talked about the totalitarian drift that Spain is suffering in the economic and institutional sphere and the attack on freedom of expression, a situation that reminds us of the Venezuelan process. The auditorium of the Mutua became too small to accommodate the more than 550 people, Spanish and Venezuelan, gathered to listen to the prestigious speakers of this meeting.
The highlight of the event was the participation of the Venezuelan opposition leader from Caracas. Maria Corina Machado thanked NEOS and its president, Jaime Mayor Earand to the Spanish people, its Congress and its Senate, for their support for Venezuela. The Venezuelan leader affirmed that, although the Chavista regime feels cornered and has opted for a violent and ferocious attack, the Venezuelan country continues to fight and is willing to move forward: “They told us it was impossible and we achieved it… to unite a country around common values: love of life, freedom, justice, human dignity and family… That is why we are going to make Maduro accept his defeat. María Corina Machado concluded with the hope of a free Venezuela, demanding international support to avoid the investiture of Wall on January 10: “This is an existential struggle for life, an ethical struggle for truth, and a spiritual struggle for good. “That is why we will win.”
Jaime Mayor Oreja, president of NEOS, was in charge of introducing Maria Corina. “We must know how to thank, value and appreciate in the right measure, and love without limits the people who risk their lives and risk losing them, who risk their freedom and risk losing it… We must value the heroines and those who risk life at the right time, today. But not only for justice but also to defend the truth against history. The president of NEOS said that María Corina Machado is not a moral reference but rather “the moral reference.”
Javier Martinez-FresnedaNEOS CEO, opened the session, recalling the famous phrase of King Louis XIV The State is me and how today Spain is heading towards that same autocracy, where a despot has colonized the institutions – the Attorney General of the State, the CEI, RTVE, the Constitutional Court and the Bank of Spain – and now it is the media, justice and economy of our country: “A sectarian division is imposed, Me and the others, me against everyone, eliminating the space for coexistence. “This situation reminds us of what our Venezuelan friends experienced during the 25 years of Chavism… But this same Venezuela is the one that gave us hope on July 28.” The director of NEOS closed his speech by encouraging each citizen to set their limits and join NEOS because “we all deserve a better country.”
Goizeder Azuaa Venezuelan journalist residing in Madrid, was in charge of moderating the event. The Venezuelan recalled that “he who leaves Venezuela does not leave because he wants to leave, he leaves because he has to leave.” Azúa expressed his concern about the dangerous approach of the Chavista process followed by Spain and expressed his desire for a free and prosperous Spain with independent democratic institutions.
The first block of Threats to Freedom of the Press was attended by two representatives of media outlets that have been severely attacked by this government. Alvaro Nietodigital newspaper director The objective. Nieto stressed that the government’s action plan is to control the media that escape its control, making it a body dependent on the government, the CNMC, which decides which are the real journalists who should be rewarded and which are those who undermine democracy. “They talk a lot about transparency and we are facing the most opaque government in history since the creation of the Transparency Portal.” The director of The Objective expressed his concern about “the reaction of some media. What is abnormal this time is that the government has allies who encourage it in its drift against certain journalists and they do it for money. Nieto concluded by stating that it is about “destroying the media that are not comfortable with a government.” It is the cancellation policy pushed to its ultimate consequences. But rest assured that we will continue to do our work, at all costs and until the end.
Ramon Perez-MauraOpinion Director The debateclosed this blockade by stating that “We have been on the same path in Venezuela for 6 years, following the same process in all institutions. “The regeneration plan is nothing more than a bill of gagged laws aimed at covering up the president’s mistakes through propaganda.” The Opinion director of this media stressed that “we live in a time where those of us who do journalism, as well as those who practice it The objective or in The debateWe are called fascists, but it consoles me that this adjective is used to describe so many things that it no longer means anything at all.
To talk about interference in the economy and institutions, he spoke Carlos Espinosa de los Monterosbusinessman and former government high commissioner for Brand Spain, who said that “Spain is embarking on the dangerous path that Venezuela has taken, but I am convinced that sooner than many think, Venezuela will become a democracy again and Spain too.” The businessman warned of the worrying economic situation in Spain and, from this point of view, he sees the end of Sánchez near because “the economy is worse than what is said because we have very bad leaders.” Finally, Espinosa de los Monteros said she is confident in Spain’s ability to mobilize to defend democracy.
In his presentation to the former mayor of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma, Goizeder Azua He recalled that he had to hide his arrest. Azúa had some words of gratitude towards the activist: “Since his arrival in 2017 in Spain, wherever Venezuela is talked about, he is there.” Ledezmabecause he is in the fight: he has the years, he has the strength, he has the truth and he also has hope. The opposition MP in exile mentioned that “Hugo Chavez He came to power using the virtues of democracy and, once in power, he dedicated himself to emptying the institutions of their content with impunity… The courts become scaffolds that bring down those who represent a threat. And it is a combination of factors: the prosecutor prepares the cases and the court executes by convicting the innocent and freeing the guilty. Regarding the media, he recalled the closure or loss of licenses of those who were not submissive instruments, “the printed media that did not follow them had their newspaper taken away.” Ledezma took advantage of this moment to recognize Miguel Henrique Oteroowner of the Venezuelan newspaper The National Already Hope Aguirre who welcomed him in Madrid, both present at the event. The representative of the Venezuelan opposition urged the Sánchez government to recognize Edmundo Gonzalez as the elected president of Venezuelans, emphasizing that “today we are a people who are victims of a manhunt. When someone sees a crime being committed and does nothing, they end up being an accomplice. We Venezuelans do not ask for asylum. We ask for adherence to solidarity to make the return to freedom possible. Long live Spain, long live Venezuela.
