The leader of the Venezuelan opposition, Edmundo González, declared Friday at El Escorial (Madrid) that “the West is at stake today in Venezuela in the defense of its fundamental values” and launched a call for unity of democratic countries in favor of the cause of the Venezuelan opposition. .
“To the extent that we are able to remain united around these values, we will win this fight,” he underlined in his speech at the IV Meeting for Culture and Freedom of the Vargas Llosa Chair, in which the former president. Chile Eduardo Frei; the journalist Álvaro Vargas Llosa; the Venezuelan opponent Antonio Ledezma and the former president of the Community of Madrid Esperanza Aguirreamong others.
The candidate of the Unitary Democratic Platform (PUD) in the last presidential elections took advantage of the platform to insist on the fact that the opposition coalition won the electionseven if “Maduro’s only response was brutal repression”.
González stressed that, even if the “destructive dictatorship” of Venezuela has not recognized “its defeat”, the coalition he represents “will continue to move forward, committed to the search for a concerted solution towards an orderly and peaceful”.
The opposition leader recalled that Venezuela played an important role during the VII Ibero-American Summit of 1997, where “it was agreed that democracy is based on values such as tolerance, pluralism, freedom expression, human rights, civilized coexistence in the world. framework of law, dialogue, transparency and accountability of public management”.
Although after the aforementioned summit Venezuela “has been dragged into the most atrocious populism”Venezuelans are “the heirs of a notable democratic tradition,” from which they will continue to “struggle to recover freedom and democracy,” he added.
“We will not stop until we once again establish a government truly elected by the people,” he concluded.
