CARACAS – Thousands of Venezuelans demonstrated across several cities on Thursday, demanding elections as Maria Corina Machado’s movement staged its first nationwide opposition protest in nearly two years. The mobilisation came while US-backed transition talks continued without her political organisation, according to Al Jazeera.
Acting President Delcy Rodriguez and US President Donald Trump have both promised elections, but neither has announced a date for a presidential or legislative vote. Machado has called for elections by July 2027, TRT World reported.
Machado’s Vente Venezuela movement organised the October 22 protests in Caracas, Valencia, Maracay, San Cristobal and Maracaibo. She has been outside Venezuela for nearly a year, after spending time in hiding following the disputed 2024 election. Eastern Herald’s earlier coverage examined the 2024 presidential contest before that vote.
In Maracay, 18-year-old cosmetology student Leosmary Hernandez said she wanted her voice heard. “I went out to protest before, when things were much tougher, and I’m even less afraid today because I want my voice to be heard,” she said, according to Al Jazeera’s report.
Security forces maintained a limited presence at Thursday’s protest sites, the reports said. In several smaller cities, demonstrators dispersed before nightfall. Smaller protests have continued in Venezuela; the description of Thursday’s events as the first in nearly two years refers to coordinated nationwide opposition demonstrations, not an absence of all protest.
In Caracas, the ruling Socialist Party called its supporters to assemble at Plaza Venezuela, where the opposition had planned to gather two hours later. The government-aligned march was advertised as an event marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month and was to proceed towards the presidential palace, TRT World reported.
Rodriguez criticised groups seeking to block streets while praising participants in the political dialogue, according to TIME, citing remarks reported by El Pais. Her government was holding talks with an opposition faction represented by Dinorah Figuera as the demonstrations took place.
The negotiations have focused on changes to the Supreme Court and electoral council ahead of eventual elections. Vente Venezuela is not participating. Machado has nevertheless said she will not obstruct the talks, according to Al Jazeera. Her movement’s exclusion does not by itself mean it opposes every step taken in those negotiations.
The demonstrations also called for the release of political prisoners and Machado’s return to Venezuela. They took place on the third anniversary of the opposition primary she won, TIME reported. No independently verified national attendance total was available in the accounts reviewed.
The dispute over what must happen before a vote predates Thursday’s mobilisation. Rodriguez promised elections at the United Nations in September without announcing a timetable, as Eastern Herald previously reported. The current negotiations concern the institutions that would oversee a vote, but the reports reviewed did not identify an agreed deadline for completing those changes.
Venezuela’s political transition followed the capture of former President Nicolas Maduro by US forces in Caracas in January. Rodriguez, his former deputy, became acting president. Thursday’s demonstrations brought the demand for elections back onto streets across the country while leaving Machado’s movement outside the negotiations over how that vote would be organised.
