CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan opposition parties and their supporters will hold protests across the country on Thursday in an eleventh-hour bid to pressure President Nicolas Maduro, a day before he is due to be sworn in for his third six-year term.
The opposition and the ruling party are in an ongoing dispute over last year’s presidential election, which both claim to have won.
State election bodies and the supreme court say Maduro, whose time in power has been marked by a deep economic and social crisis, won the July election, although they have never released detailed results.
The government, which has accused the opposition of fomenting fascist plots against it, said it would arrest opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez if he returned to the country and detained prominent opposition members and activists ahead of the inauguration.
The opposition says Gonzalez, 75, won in a landslide. He released the vote tallies as proof, winning the support of governments around the world, including the United States, which considers Gonzalez the president-elect.
Maria Corina Machado, who is the country’s most popular opposition leader but is barred from running in 2024, promised to join protesters on Thursday.
Her appearance would mark her first public appearance since going into hiding in August.
Machado, 57, urged protesters to peacefully flood the streets and repeatedly asked members of the police and military – who guarded polling stations during the election – to support Gonzalez’s victory.
Maduro, 62, has been in power since 2013. He has the vocal support of leaders in the armed forces and intelligence services, which are run by close allies of powerful Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.
“I am confident that nothing will happen,” Cabello said on state television on Monday. “But that doesn’t mean we’re going to let our guard down.”
The military’s financial interests make loyalties unlikely, BancTrust, a London-based investment bank, said in a note. “A limited military rebellion would entail significant risks for those involved, thereby reducing the incentives to participate,” it said.
The government has deployed heavy military security in Caracas, especially near the Miraflores presidential palace.
The ruling party is expected to host a rival march.
Gonzalez, who has been on a tour of America this week, meeting with US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump’s national security adviser, has repeatedly promised to return to Venezuela but has not given details on how.
An arrest warrant was issued for Gonzalez for the alleged conspiracy, prompting his September escape to Spain.
Machado is under investigation by the attorney general in at least two cases, but no warrants have been released for her.
The government detained several high-profile politicians and activists, including a former presidential candidate. This week, the attorney general’s office said it had freed more than 1,500 of the 2,000 people, including teenagers, detained during the post-election protests.
