Edmundo González Urrutia launched an attack on Chavismo from Buenos Aires one week before the presidential inauguration ceremony. “My intention is to go to Venezuela to take possession of the mandate that the Venezuelans gave me.” [en las elecciones presidenciales de julio]”said the opposition leader and elected candidate this Saturday at a press conference after meeting with the head of state of Argentina, Javier Milei. González Urrutia avoided answering how he will get to Venezuela, where there is an arrest warrant against him and the police have offered a reward of $100,000 for his capture.
Buenos Aires is the first stop on a Latin American tour that will also take you to Uruguay, Panama, the United States and the Dominican Republic. Hundreds of Venezuelans received him with applause, cheers and shouts of “Edmundo president” when they saw him appear on the balcony of the Casa Rosada next to Milei. They also applauded the Argentine president, whom they thank for having been one of the first world leaders to describe the Venezuelan elections as fraudulent and for calling Maduro a dictator.
González Urrutia landed on Friday from Madrid and Milei received him at the Argentine Government headquarters this morning. “Thank you for coming and thank you for being in our house because Argentina is always the home of the Venezuelans of the world,” the Argentine president told his guest during the initial handshake. Milei recognized him as “elected president” and condemned the political persecution to which he is subject in Venezuela. “Argentina will not be complicit in silence in the face of the injustices and abuses of the Maduro regime. Our position is clear: freedom, justice and democracy for all Venezuelans,” Milei highlighted in a statement. The far-right leader called for strengthening regional collaboration “to build a prosperous Latin America free from the oppressive yoke of any type of government of dubious democratic quality.”
Venezuelans waited for more than an hour under the sun and with emotion running high to see the man they claim as the winner of the July presidential elections. Wrapped in the flags of their country, the members of the Venezuelan diaspora in Argentina were proud that this country is the first on a tour that will continue through Uruguay and the Dominican Republic. “Freedom, freedom,” they chanted to applause and cheers when González Urrutia and Milei greeted them. “One of the most exciting moments I have ever experienced,” the Venezuelan opposition leader described shortly after through his social networks.
One of the most exciting moments I have ever experienced!
Venezuelans, we will also find ourselves in the streets of our beloved country.
— Edmundo González (@EdmundoGU)
Before meeting with Milei, in which he reported that both would talk about “the Venezuelan political situation, its impact on the region and the days to come.” After the meeting with the Argentine president, he was also received by his chancellor, Gerardo Werthein.
González Urrutia knows Argentina well. He lived in Buenos Aires as a diplomat for four years, between 1998 and 2002, and returned 22 years later becoming a symbol for all those who want the end of Chavismo. “Edmundo is hope after despair,” says Luis de Figueredo, who is dressed in an anti-Maduro T-shirt and waves a Venezuelan flag in front of the Casa Rosada. “I don’t know if it will be January 10, January 15 or in a few more months, but Venezuela is going to be free because Maduro was left alone, no one supports him anymore,” he says.
The same optimism is repeated among those gathered in front of the Argentine Government headquarters. “I came to see my president,” says Rita Segarra, 68, who arrived in Buenos Aires five years ago to join her children, who had migrated earlier, through tears. “I left Venezuela in 2016 because with Chavismo, young people have no future,” says María López, 28 years old.
The concentration, however, was low if one takes into account that there are nearly 200,000 Venezuelans residing in Argentina. Many chose not to go to the center of the city because they believe that “only a miracle” will prevent it. “Edmundo’s visit is more useful to Milei than to us, unfortunately,” says Luis Patiño, owner of a cafeteria. “You will not be able to enter Venezuela,” a client supports.
Argentina and Venezuela have broken diplomatic relations and Milei has found the perfect enemy in Maduro. It allows him to establish himself as a defender of democracy in the international arena, where his other opinions—such as rejection of the sustainable development agenda or policies against gender violence—have many more detractors.
González Urrutia’s agenda will continue this afternoon on the other side of the Río de la Plata, in Uruguay. He will be received by the outgoing president, Luis Lacalle Pou, and by his chancellor, Omar Paganini.
