United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, stated this Tuesday (19) that Washington recognizes Edmundo González’s victory in Venezuela’s presidential election, which took place in July.
González was the opponent of dictator Nicolás Maduro, proclaimed winner by the Venezuelan electoral body, controlled by Chavismo.
A retired diplomat, he emerged from anonymity when he was anointed as an opposition candidate after the regime disqualified María Corina Machado, the main opposition figure.
The opposing candidate was called to testify repeatedly until, in September, he was declared the target of an arrest warrant, accused of conspiracy, usurpation of functions, incitement to rebellion and sabotage
The imputations refer to the opposition’s initiative to publish the voting minutes of the election on the internet. Equivalent to Brazilian ballots, these minutes have the function of guaranteeing the fairness of the electoral process, and their publication is provided for in Venezuelan law.
According to the documents made public, which according to the group opposing the regime correspond to 80% of the total minutes generated in the election, González would have won the presidential election with over 67% of the votes, against 30% for Maduro.
The dictatorship claims that Maduro was the winner of the dispute, having been re-elected with 52% of the votes against González’s 43%, and that the minutes released by the opposition are false. But it did not release the official documents, despite broad international pressure.
Furthermore, a series of international organizations that carried out independent checks of the minutes published on the website certified that they are true.
