Dozens of Venezuelans took to the streets this Monday in Caracas and several states across the country to demand presidential elections, the release of political prisoners, improvements in salaries, and a solution to the electrical crisis, according to a report by the EFE agency.
The mobilizations add to other protests recorded in September with similar demands, in a sustained cycle of pressure against the government of Delcy Rodríguez.
March to the Judiciary in Caracas
In the capital, the protesters marched along Libertador Avenue to the headquarters of the Judiciary, where the Alliance for the Freedom of Political Prisoners submitted a document.
The document calls for an investigation into judges who "may have committed disciplinary offenses, abuse of authority, unjustified procedural delays, power deviations, or other actions contrary to the legal framework in cases involving individuals deprived of their liberty for political reasons."
Carlos Salazar, from the National Trade Union Coalition, stated: “We want presidential elections this December and we want the release of all prisoners.”
The slogans "Out, Delcy!" and "Elections now!" echoed in several cities, openly rejecting the interim president, who promised before the UN General Assembly that "there will be elections in Venezuela" without setting a date or presenting a timeline.
At the beginning of September, Rodríguez had stated: “There will be an electoral process, but under the conditions Venezuela is prepared for. I do not set a date.”
Blockage of the bridge over Lake Maracaibo
In Maracaibo, workers and employees from public universities blocked the bridge over the Lago de Maracaibo —a vital artery connecting the Zulia capital with the rest of the country— to protest against salaries that have been frozen since 2022 at 130 bolívares monthly, equivalent to just a few cents of a dollar according to the official exchange rate.
From the bridge, the protester Julio Zabala declared: "Delcy, we will remove you sooner or later because you are just more of the same."
In the Cojedes state, residents of several communities in the San Carlos municipality burned tires and logs and blocked roads in protest against power outages that exceeded six hours, according to the account Qué Pasa en Venezuela.
Criticism of the agreement on the Supreme Court
The protests also targeted the agreement between chavismo and opposition sectors to renew the Supreme Court of Justice through a council of jurists, which is an alternative to the Judicial Nominations Committee established in the Constitution.
The lawyer Eduardo Torres stated: "Right now they are creating a façade of a change in the popular justice system and political maneuvering that violates the Constitution."
His colleague Noé Mujica recalled that the constitutional provision reserves those appointments for the Nomination Committee, not for a parallel body.
324 political prisoners and unchanged repression
Foro Penal reported, as of September 28, a total of 324 political prisoners: 310 men and 14 women, 184 civilians and 140 military personnel.
Since 2014, the organization has recorded 19,251 political arrests in the country.
The figure contrasts with the official narrative: the amnesty law promoted after the capture of Maduro was presented as benefiting more than 8,000 people, but Foro Penal only verified 768 releases, as most of the supposed beneficiaries were already free with precautionary measures.
On that same Monday, Amnesty International warned from Bogotá that the structures of repression remain intact, as noted in its analysis published that day.
"The same people, the same laws, the same institutions, the same police: nothing has changed," declared the Secretary General Agnès Callamard.
Callamard acknowledged some releases, but warned: “We are very concerned that the tip of the iceberg may be becoming a bit clearer, but there is a very deep iceberg of repression that is not changing.”
The UN Mission, in its report dated September 16, had come to similar conclusions: it documented 64 new cases of torture since January and identified at least 19 previously indicated officials who remain in key positions, according to the analysis of that report.
The Frustrated Return of María Corina Machado
Among the slogans, the name of María Corina Machado also resonated, the opposition leader who has made at least seven failed attempts to enter the country since June.
The demand for guarantees for their return has become one of the recurring calls in the protests of September.
While the Chavista regime negotiates with opposition sectors and Rodríguez promises a "democratic transformation" without specific dates, the Venezuelans gathered in Caracas throughout September maintain one of their main demands: "Elections now."
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