Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro sworn in for third term after disputed elections | Nicolás Maduro news

President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro sworn in for a third six-year term after disputed elections in which his opponent, Edmundo Gonzalez, claimed voter fraud and declared victory.

By starting a new term on Friday, Maduro is defying international pressure and sanctions led by the United States, which recognized Gonzalez as the winner of a July vote.

“Let this new presidential term be an era of peace, prosperity, equality and a new democracy,” Maduro said, promising to follow the country’s laws. “I swear on history, on my life and I will fulfill (my mandate)”.

Maduro’s swearing-in ceremony took place a day after the opposition leader Maria Corina Machado rarely made a public appearance to lead a protest against his rule. Machado’s team said he was detained briefly during the demonstration.

“I am now in a safe place and I am determined to continue with you until the end,” Machado wrote on social media after his release.

Maduro, a former bus driver, came to power after the death of the leftist leader Hugo Chavez In 2013. His tenure was marked by accusations of authoritarianism, as well as economic and political crises.

In 2018, for example, he faced another contested presidential election, with several senior opposition leaders barred from competing in the race.

After that, the leader of the opposition Juan Guaido He protested Maduro’s victory and ran for the presidency. In 2019, the United States and several of its allies in the Western Hemisphere recognized Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela.

In the same year, Washington expanded its activities extensive sanctions It deepens its economic problems against Venezuela. An estimated 7.7 million people have left the country, some due to allegations of political repression and others due to economic instability.

July elections gave the opposition hopes of a peaceful ouster of Maduro, but the incumbent quickly won, claiming 51 percent of the vote.

The country’s electoral authorities have not released the usual results from polling stations in Venezuela, but have sided with Maduro, fueling criticism of a lack of transparency.

The opposition, meanwhile, has released what it claims are official tallies showing Gonzalez winning by a wide margin.

A number of leftist leaders in South America have also criticized Maduro and questioned the election results.

Maduro’s victory in the July 28 presidential race sparked widespread protests in the weeks following the results, but government pressure has since quelled the demonstrations.

About 2,000 people were arrested and 25 people were killed during the post-election demonstrations.

Still, the opposition tried to put pressure on Maduro’s government by calling for protests ahead of the inauguration this week. Several hundred demonstrators joined Machado on Thursday, though the crowds were noticeably smaller than the post-election protests.

Maduro’s government has accused the opposition of conspiring with foreign forces to overthrow the president and issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez, who fled the country in September and was later jailed. gave shelter in Spain.

Former diplomat Gonzalez visited the United States earlier this week and met with President Joe Biden as part of his visit to the countries of the American continent.

The White House said that Gonzalez and Biden “expressed deep concern about the unacceptable and indiscriminate use of repression by Nicolas Maduro and his representatives against peaceful demonstrators, democracy activists and civil society.”

The US government calls Gonzalez the “president-elect” of Venezuela.