
The party Vente Venezuela announced on Monday a national mobilization for next Thursday in Caracas and in all cities across the country, with three central demands: an electoral timeline that guarantees presidential elections in 2027, the safe return of their leader María Corina Machado, and the release of political prisoners.
The political activist from the organization Carlos Fernández announced the call during a press conference and anticipated the scope of the event: "It will be the spearhead for us to mobilize peacefully. It will be a historic mobilization for us."
Fernández was explicit about the electoral objective: "In 2027 we have to hold a presidential election. We are going to elect María Corina Machado as the next president of Venezuela, and we are organizing for that."
The proposed date for those elections is July 24, 2027, the birthday of Simón Bolívar, which Machado publicly endorsed at the beginning of October. The government of Delcy Rodríguez has stated before the UN that there will be elections, but has not set a date or presented a verifiable timeline.
The march on Thursday coincides with the third anniversary of the 2023 opposition primaries, in which Machado emerged victorious with broad popular support. The slogan of the call encapsulates Vente Venezuela's stance: "The date of the election is the date of liberation."
Another demand is the return of Machado, who secretly left Venezuela in December 2025 to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo — an award she received that year — and has since been unable to return to the country despite at least seven attempts, according to her communications team.
Fernández emphasized that the return of the leader is essential to "accelerate the transition" in anticipation of a potential presidential election.
The third demand targets the 322 political prisoners accounted for by the NGO Foro Penal. The Chavista regime denies that these individuals are detained for political reasons, asserting instead that they committed crimes, a stance rejected by the opposition and numerous human rights organizations.
The announcement comes at a time of intense political activity. On Sunday, the Democratic Unitary Platform presented a national agreement with 14 proposals for a democratic transition, in which it supported the leadership of Machado and the role of Edmundo González Urrutia, who has been in exile since 2024 after facing then-president Nicolás Maduro in that year's presidential elections.
Meanwhile, since October 14, the third cycle of dialogue is taking place in Caracas between chavismo —represented by Jorge Rodríguez— and a sector of the opposition led by Dinorah Figuera, with the backing of Washington. Machado reported last Thursday that the United States had excluded her from these negotiations, in which neither she nor González Urrutia are participating directly.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Figuera in Washington on October 9 and urged progress in political freedoms and electoral reform, but the absence of the most representative figures of the opposition remains the main point of tension in the process.
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