Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said on Monday (2), in a meeting with activists from the Bolivarian movement, that he will only hand over power to another leader from his same political bloc. The speech came on the same day that the Venezuelan justice system issued an arrest warrant against the candidate who ran against him in the presidential election, Edmundo González.
“I am, by reason of life, the first Chavista president in the history of Venezuela. And when I hand over my mandate, I will hand it over to a Chavista, Bolivarian and revolutionary president,” said Nicolás Maduro.
The Venezuelan leader also accused the opposition, led by María Corina Machado, of having roots in fascism and of being submissive to the interests of the United States.
At the ceremony, called the Meeting of the Five Generations, Maduro gave a historical reading of the development process in Latin America, where he included his own political movement as a force of resistance against what he called “abuses and genocide” caused by the United States and European countries.
“The process of resistance was continuous. We never stopped fighting. The indigenous peoples resisted, as did the Afro-descendants who arrived here. If we could say there was a huge difference between the historical revolutionary, Bolivarian and Chavista bloc — founded by Commander Chavez — and the different factions of the national oligarchy, we could say that they have no history. They have money, ambition and personal interests. We have a legacy that we have to defend with our own lives,” concluded Maduro.
Contested election
Maduro’s attacks come amid accusations from the opposition and the international community that the July election, which gave the Bolivarian leader a third term, was rigged. The electoral authority did not present data broken down by polling station. And the opposition carried out a parallel count in which it claims that Edmundo González would have won with another absolute majority of the votes.
Since then, a wave of protests has erupted in Caracas and the country’s main cities.
The protests have left around 27 people dead and more than 2,400 arrested. The Venezuelan government has blamed the opposition for the deaths, while opponents accuse the government of waging a campaign of repression.
Election in Venezuela had electronic ballot box and printed vote; understand
This content was originally published in Maduro accuses opposition of fascism and says he will only hand over power to another Chavista on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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