Caracas, Venezuela – Dark clouds loomed over the unusually quiet streets of Petare as Eglle Camacho began to hear a muted, rhythmic sound. Soon, the noise grew as people emerged from their windows and doors, armed with kitchen utensils, banging spoons against pots. They flooded into the streets, and Camacho decided to join them. This spontaneous march headed toward the center of Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, gathering thousands of people on foot and on motorcycles. The motive for this gathering was the anger felt over what they believe are false election results announced in favor of President Nicolás Maduro.
Camacho took many photos that day – capturing smiles, flags, and even the violence – but has since deleted them out of fear of what Maduro’s government might do to the protesters. “There is so much persecution,” Camacho said from her home in Petare. “They go into neighborhoods to find people.”
Fear has been widespread in the days following the presidential election on July 28. In the weeks leading up to the election, polls suggested that Maduro would lose to retired diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez if the election were free and fair. Gonzalez had a significant lead of around 30 percentage points, and exit polls confirmed a similar trend. However, when Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (Consejo Nacional Electoral – CNE) announced the results early Monday morning, it told a different story: according to the commission, Maduro won with over 51 percent of the votes – seven percentage points ahead of Gonzalez.
Demonstrations began, leading to clashes between opposition supporters and security forces. Some of these clashes resulted in arrests, injuries, and even fatalities. Jorge Fermin, 86, has protested against the socialist government of Venezuela for many years, first under the late Hugo Chavez and then under his appointed successor, Maduro. At a rally in central Caracas, he waved a homemade sign featuring an optical illusion: from one angle, it shows Gonzalez’s face, while from another it shows María Corina Machado, the candidate who was banned from running against Maduro.
“This is the world’s greatest lie,” Fermin said regarding the CNE’s results. “The government knows the true outcome, but they will not show it.” Until now, Maduro’s government has not disclosed the vote counts from individual polling stations, which had been standard practice in the past. The CNE has only provided the overall percentages.
The men and women in the streets, once seen as loyal to Chavismo—the ideology promoted by Chavez that emphasizes income redistribution and opposition to “imperial” forces—no longer see poetry in socialist rhetoric. Margarita Lopez, a historian, points out that today’s demonstrations bear similarities to previous mobilizations but that the polarization has now vanished. “Everyone is fighting to find work,” she said. “They have become poorer. They do not have full access to public services.”
According to Lopez, Venezuela’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has contracted by 80 percent in recent years, and wages and pensions have been eroded by hyperinflation. Estimates show that 7.7 million people—one-quarter of the population—have left the country due to low wages and a lack of opportunities.
“I cannot support seeing blood on my land—a country that has so much to offer,” said Camacho. “If this government does not fall, then I have to go. I cannot continue here—they will put me in jail.” So far, at least 19 people have been killed in clashes between security forces and opposition supporters, according to the non-governmental organization Victim Monitor. At the same time, over 1,000 have been arrested, denied access to legal aid, and have not been allowed to see their families.
Marta Diaz, a student, participated in demonstrations to demand the release of 17 youths who were arrested after the election. “I felt really bad. I even had something like a panic attack,” she said. “It’s hard to keep hope in such a dark situation.” Despite the fear of repression, she refuses to give up the fight for her cousin’s release and to secure support for a transparent election outcome. “I will attend more protests. I am scared, of course, but I will go to as many as necessary.”
Maduro announced in a televised broadcast the establishment of two high-security prisons for those related to the protests, assuring that they will be “re-education camps” where prisoners will be subjected to forced labor. Nevertheless, Fermin, wearing his Venezuelan flag cap, expressed his resilience and hope for the future: “The day I stop fighting, I will fall.”