USA recognized this Tuesday for the first time in public the standard bearer of the majority opposition, Edmundo González Urrutia, as elected president of Venezuela after the elections of last July 28.
“The Venezuelan people spoke out forcefully on July 28 and named Edmundo González as president-elect. Democracy demands respect for the will of the voters,” said the Secretary of State, Antony Blinkenon social networks.
The Administration of Joe Biden recognized González Urrutia on August 1 as the election winnerbut had until now avoided declaring him “elected president” of Venezuela.
The National Electoral Council (CNE) proclaimed in those elections the re-election of Nicolas Maduro as president of Venezuela, but the organization has not published the minutes with the disaggregated results of the elections.
The Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), the main opposition coalition in the country, presented for its part some minutes that give victory to its candidate, González Urrutiawho has been in exile in Spain since September, denouncing persecution by the Venezuelan authorities.
This it is the first time that USA uses the term “president-elect” to refer to Edmundo González Urrutia, a senior Administration official confirmed to EFE.
The reason why the Biden Government has decided to use this term is related to the imminence of Maduro’s inauguration for a third term, which is scheduled for January 10.
According to this source, this designation does not imply that the United States recognizes González Urrutia as Venezuelan president, but He does emphasize his position of considering him the winner of the elections.
According to this official, the situation is different from that of 2019, when the first government of Donald Trump (2017-2021) called the opponent Juan Guaidó “legitimate president.”
A State Department spokesperson told EFE that it is “clear” to both the United States and other countries and electoral observers that González Urrutia “He had the highest number of votes” and that “makes him president-elect”.
“The Venezuelan people overwhelmingly and unequivocally expressed their desire for democratic change; the publicly available voting records say so,” he declared.
