Venezuela: Far-Right Refuses to Recognise Poll Results, Violent Protests in Caracas

Violent protests have broken out in places across the Venezuelan capital Caracas on July 29, in the aftermath of the country’s presidential election. Far-right mobs have attempted to block major roads, including the road next to the Simón Bolívar International Airport, and have attacked buses, police cars, and members of the country’s security forces. The protests seem to be in response to calls by the defeated far-right opposition that on Sunday evening refused to recognize the victory of Nicolás Maduro.

In response to these incidents, different Venezuelan officials have called for a return to peace and an end to the violent protests. The president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez declared in a press conference on Monday evening, that the proposal of the right-wing was always to provoke violence and disturb the rule of law faced with the impossibility of winning at the polls. He also stated that the Venezuelan government had foiled several attempts to attack vital infrastructure on Sunday.

The right-wing opposition candidate Edmundo González and opposition leader María Corina Machado also held a press conference on Monday night to declare that they had their own data which confirms that they in fact won the elections with 73% of the votes. This supposed exclusive data that they collected comes from a New-Jersey based company Edison Research. According to a report by journalist Ben Norton, the company which did an exit poll on Sunday is “closely linked to the US government and does work for US state propaganda outlets that were founded by the CIA.” The apparent political nature of the exit poll company has led many to question the veracity of the data, especially given the wide difference with the official results and other leading pollsters.

Progressive organizations and platforms from across the world have denounced the destabilization attempts, with many alleging that the protests are coordinated and likely backed by the United States.

A statement released by the Party for Socialism and Liberation reads, “Nearly every major corporate media outlet based in the United States and other western countries covered the story based around the same basic narrative – a result that couldn’t possibly be true. If any evidence at all is being cited to back up the right-wing’s claims of fraud, it is ludicrously biased pre-election surveys conducted by opposition-aligned polling companies that suggested González had higher support. What we are witnessing is a familiar pattern in the U.S. campaign to overthrow the Bolivarian Revolution – the process of socialist transformation that began with the election of Hugo Chávez in 1998. When the U.S. government thinks that the right wing opposition has a chance of succeeding at the ballot box, then they participate in elections. When they lose the vote, they turn back to street violence and coup attempts.”

US-based organizations The People’s Forum and the ANSWER Coalition, wrote in a statement, “Democracy is under attack as the far-right mobilizes violent protests to attempt to overthrow President Maduro who won yesterday’s elections. History shows us that these coup attempts are often orchestrated directly by Washington and by allies of US imperialism. Stand on the side of the people and for democracy! HANDS OFF VENEZUELA!”

On Monday, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yván Gil announced that the country’s diplomatic personnel in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, Dominican Republic and Uruguay would be withdrawn in response to the attempts by the governments of these countries to attack and undermine the electoral process. The ministry stated, “Venezuela expresses its strong rejection to the meddling actions and declarations of a group of right-wing governments, subordinated to Washington and committed openly with the most sordid ideological positions of international fascism, attempting to revise the failed and defeated Lima Group, that are attempting to disregard the electoral results of the Presidential Polls carried out this Sunday July 28, 2024.”

Chavista movements and organizations have called for people to mobilize to the center of Caracas to defend their vote and peace in Venezuela.