Venezuelan citizens took to the streets of Caracas this Thursday to demand an electoral calendar and call for the return of opposition leader María Corina Machado, according to journalist Orlando Avendaño on his social media.
Among the slogans chanted by the crowd were "Out, Delcy! Out, Delcy!" and "Elections now!". The participants carried Venezuelan flags, signs with Machado's image, and banners with messages such as "Hunger for freedom."
The protest took place a day after the acting president Delcy Rodríguez briefly met with Donald Trump in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The meeting, which lasted about 15 minutes, was deemed "historic" by the Chavista regime, although a survey published this Thursday indicated that 91% of Venezuelans opposed that meeting.
In his speech before the UN, Rodríguez stated that "there will be elections in Venezuela" and spoke of a "democratic transformation," but without setting a date or presenting any schedule. Marco Rubio revealed that the meeting with Trump addressed the restructuring of Venezuela's sovereign debt, economic stabilization, and a political transition towards free and fair elections in Venezuela.
The unrest in the streets also reflects the accumulated frustration over Machado's repeated failed attempts to set foot on Venezuelan soil. On Wednesday, the opposition leader tried to enter the country from Panama three times in less than 24 hours without success, according to her team reported to the EFE agency. Those three attempts amount to at least seven total thwarted returns since last June.
Ana Corina Sosa, daughter of the opposition leader, warned on Wednesday that her mother's return faces "serious obstacles," while Machado had publicly promised to return "imminently" in mid-September, reiterating that she considers the democratic transition in the country "incomplete."
The protests this Thursday add to others that have taken place this September, with previous marches on the 3rd, the 17th, and the 23rd, all with similar demands.
Rodríguez had already made his position clear at the beginning of September: "There will be an electoral process, but under the conditions that Venezuela is prepared for. I am not setting a date."
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