Thousands rally across Venezuela to demand elections

Thousands of people protested in Caracas and several other Venezuelan cities on Thursday, demanding free elections and political change in the first nationwide opposition demonstration in nearly two years.

No date has been set for a vote to choose a successor to Nicolas Maduro, who was captured by US forces in a military raid in January. US President Donald Trump and interim President Delcy Rodriguez have both said elections will take place.

Machado calls for vote by July 2027

Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado has said elections must be held by July 2027. She has been outside the country for nearly a year, after living in hiding following the contested 2024 election.

Her Vente Venezuela movement organised Thursday's protests, which took place in the capital Caracas and in Valencia, Maracay, San Cristobal and Maracaibo.

In northern Maracay, 18-year-old cosmetology student Leosmary Hernandez gathered with hundreds of others. "Seeing this makes me happy because I know change is possible," she said, adding that she had faced hardships over the dollar and difficulties studying. "I have high hopes for my country and for our next leader and president, Maria Corina."

"I went out to protest before, when things were much tougher, and I'm even less afraid today because I want my voice to be heard," she said.

Government presence minimal

Venezuela has been led since January 3 by interim President Delcy Rodriguez of the long-governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). PSUV leaders have been accused of human rights abuses against political dissidents, including arbitrary arrest, imprisonment and torture.

After the US military operation to abduct and jail Maduro, the PSUV remained in power with the support of the White House. Trump has backed Rodriguez's leadership even though she was Maduro's vice president, and his administration has maintained an active role in Venezuela, exerting control over its oil resources and pressing the government for reforms.

The socialist movement, in power since 1999 under the late Hugo Chavez and then Maduro, has previously deployed security forces against protesters. Government forces had minimal presence at protest sites on Thursday, and in many smaller cities demonstrators dispersed before dark.

The ruling Socialist Party called on its supporters to march from Caracas' Plaza Venezuela, the same spot the opposition planned to gather two hours later, to a location near the presidential palace to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, known for his close ties to the security services, was pictured on state television at that march, while opposition supporters moved their protest to a nearby location.

Talks exclude Machado's movement

Talks between a faction of the opposition and the interim government, aimed at remaking the top court and the electoral council ahead of eventual elections, held their latest session this month, but changes could take significant time. The negotiations, backed by the US, do not include Machado's political movement, though she has said she will not stand in the way of their progress.

Machado's proxy, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, claims to have won the 2024 election according to opposition vote tallies. The government, which never released full counts, backed Maduro, as did the country's legal and electoral institutions.

Machado has for years sought US support, aligning with hawks in the Trump team who argued that Maduro, through alleged links to drug gangs, represented a direct threat to US national security. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, face drug and torture charges in the US. They have pleaded not guilty.

Source: Al Jazeera.