The leader of the Venezuelan opposition, Maria Corina Machadohas called for a ““great protest” worldwide for this Saturday, August 17, with the aim of “raising the voice for the truth” and calling for respect for sovereignty, after the presidential elections last Sunday, July 28, gave victory to Nicolas Maduroand the Government refuses to publish the electoral records.

This “march of marches” will take place in 350 cities around the worldwhere many of the 7.7 million Venezuelan citizens who have been forced to leave the country in recent years live. Migrants are also expected Protests in the streets of Caracas and several cities in the interior of Venezuela. In fact, it has been in the capital of the country where The opposition leader has reappeared boarding the popular campaign truck after two weeks in hiding.

The first ones took place in Sydney, Australia, where dozens of Venezuelans demonstrated this Saturday to denounce the electoral “fraud” and claim the victory of Edmundo González Urrutia.Venezuela I want you free“Sovereignty, peaceful transition to democracy” are some of the messages that were read on the banners that were displayed at the demonstration.

Madrid, the most crowded abroad

The largest demonstration outside Venezuelan borders took place in Madrid, with almost 15,000 people who filled the iconic and central Puerta del Sol shouting “Freedom” and “Out with Maduro.” Venezuelan leaders in exile attended the demonstration, Leopoldo Lopez or the former mayor of Caracas Antonio Ledezmawho in statements to Efe welcomed the international support for “the epic battle” that Venezuelans are waging against the Maduro government.

Madrid was one of thirty Spanish cities that joined the global call for protests called by Venezuela’s largest opposition alliance, the Democratic Unity Platform (PUD), to demand the truth of the victory in the presidential elections of July 28 and to express their dissent towards Nicolás Maduro.

In other European capitals, such as Rome, Paris, London or BrusselsHundreds of Venezuelans also took to the streets against Maduro’s “fraud.” In the British capital, between 450 and 600 Venezuelans demonstrated peacefully, displaying copies of the electoral records that would have given victory to the opposition candidate.

Several hundred Venezuelans gathered in the Place de la Bastille in Paris under persistent rain, and other demonstrations had also been organised in another dozen cities in France, including Lyon, Marseille, Lille, Bordeaux, Bayonne, La Rochelle and Le Havre.

In Brussels there were some 250 people those who gathered in the centre of the European capital, a number similar to that of Venezuelans who met in the Roman Imperial Forums shouting “freedom” and with slogans against Maduro.

In Colombia, protests yearn for return

In Colombia, the country that welcomes the most Venezuelans, hundreds of people gathered in the squares of the main cities where they displayed banners that read: “Free Venezuela” or “Out with the dictator Maduro”in rallies that brought together Colombians and Venezuelans with the hope of returning to their country.

The OAS speaks out

These protests come just one day after the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) approved by consensus on Friday a resolution demanding that Venezuelan authorities “promptly publish the minutes with the results of the presidential election at the level of each polling station.”

They also ask that “respect the fundamental principle of popular sovereignty through impartial verification of the results that guarantees the transparency, credibility and legitimacy of the electoral process.”

A decision that was celebrated by the Venezuelan opposition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, on his social networks, where he wrote: “We managed to get, by consensus in the OAS, the voice to be raised in support of the will of all Venezuelans demanding that the minutes be published and that the path towards a free, democratic country, with guarantees and respect, be accepted once and for all,” he noted on his account on the social network X.

Among these countries, Uruguay has been one of the most blunt, and its representative at the OAS, Washington Abdala, has been very forceful: “We are facing a disgraceful dictatorship,” he said, while describing the situation as “the worst thing that has happened to the continent in a long time.”

Neither do American left-wing leaders support Maduro, as is the case of the Chilean Gabriel Boric who without “doubts” maintains that “The Maduro regime has attempted to commit fraud”. Brazil’s Lula is somewhat more ambiguous, calling it not a dictatorship but rather an “unpleasant government.” In fact, he offers two options to end the delicate situation: a grand coalition or a repeat election. The Venezuelan rejects both.

In the face of protests and despite being increasingly alone, Maduro tries to silence those who oppose his government. Whether with the Whatsapp ban either by marking with a ‘X’ the houses of Venezuelan civilians who have shown their opposition to the Chavista.

International pressure

A total of 21 countries, including Spain, together with the European Union have issued a joint statement in which They call for “common sense and sanity in Venezuela” and demand the publication of the electoral records of the elections of July 28.

“We request the immediate publication of all the original minutes and the impartial and independent verification of these results, preferably by an international entity, to guarantee respect for the will of the Venezuelan people as expressed at the polls,” they said in a statement on the situation in Venezuela.

In this joint statement they have also demanded that all democratic principles, as well as the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Venezuelans, be respected. They have emphasized the right to demonstrate “peacefully and to exercise freedom of expression”; as well as the right to Release of all those detained since the electionsapproximately 2,000.