Venezuelan political newcomer Edmundo González says it’s his turn to govern

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Edmundo Gonzalez has become a beacon of hope for millions of Venezuelans. They want to call him President. He believes he won the position at the polls last year. government President Nicolas Maduro He says he didn’t.

stake friday oath The percentage of people who will rule Venezuela over the next six years is higher than at any time this century.

González never imagined he would be in charge of a major opposition faction. unified platform Union. He wasn’t even a candidate until the July election.

Less than a year ago, he was a largely unknown grandfather, but now he can be heard chanting his name as loudly as tens of thousands of people shout “Freedom!” Freedom! “At meetings across South America.

But Gonzalez paid the price. Challenging the 25-year rule Member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. Under pressure he defected. And on Tuesday, he said his son-in-law, Rafael Tudares, had been kidnapped in the capital, Caracas.

“When did having an affair with Edmundo González Urrutia become a crime?” In a statement, his daughter Mariana González de Tudares said she believed the government was behind her husband’s disappearance. He said he suggested it.

In a statement, the main opposition coalition characterized it as a “politically motivated enforced disappearance.” The government’s Central Media Bureau did not respond to requests for comment.

González, 75, was enjoying retirement after a career in diplomacy when the coalition government selected him as a last-minute replacement for the opposition in April. maria corina machado. She had been blocked from running for president by the Supreme Judicial Court, which is controlled by President Maduro. He won an overwhelming victory over the opposition party in the October 2023 primary election. With over 90% of the votes.

González had just returned to Caracas from a trip to Europe. opposition leaders presented him with ideas Become a candidate.

in front Mr. González joined Mr. Machado’s campaign.she represented him, presenting him as an honest family man while showing the crowd a banner with his mugshot on it.

González began his professional career as an aide to the Venezuelan ambassador to the United States. He also served in Belgium and El Salvador, serving as ambassador to Algeria. His last post was as ambassador to Argentina during the first years of Maduro’s predecessor and leader Hugo Chávez’s government.

More recently, González worked as an international relations consultant, writing about recent political developments in Argentina and authoring a historical work on Venezuela’s foreign minister during World War II.

“I have never participated in partisan politics of elected office,” he told The Associated Press in May. “I accepted this matter with great responsibility as my contribution to the process of democratizing this country and seeking understanding and reconciliation for the Venezuelan people.”

His years as a diplomat in El Salvador and Algeria coincided with armed conflicts in both countries. For some time, his whereabouts were tracked by locals in El Salvador, who sometimes received threatening phone calls to his home.

A trained diplomat, his calm tone and poker face belie the popular image of Venezuelans as boisterous politicians. President Maduro and his allies saw his behavior as a sign of weakness and criticized him on state television.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello on Monday called him a “coward” and claimed without evidence that the retired diplomat was a CIA agent. “He has neither courage nor temperament.”

The claims of a contest for the presidency are rooted in the election results. Election authorities declared Maduro the winner hours after voting closed, but unlike in previous presidential elections, they did not provide detailed vote counts. but, Opposition parties collected tally sheets. Voting results from over 80% of electronic voting machines will be posted online, He said the results showed Mr. González won with twice as many votes as Mr. Maduro..

This was revealed by the US-based Carter Center, which was invited by the Maduro government to monitor the election. The tally table published by the opposition party is legal..

González fled to Spain in September after a judge issued an arrest warrant in connection with an investigation into the publication of election results. The government announced last week $100,000 reward Seeking information regarding his whereabouts.

But he vowed to return to his homeland to take the oath of office on Friday. Meanwhile, the ruling party-led National Assembly is poised to welcome President Maduro’s swearing-in, which will extend his 11-year presidential term until 2031.

Mr. González, who is recognized by multiple governments including the United States as Venezuela’s next president, has not said how he intends to regain or seize power from Mr. Maduro, whose ruling party controls every aspect of the government. I haven’t.

he is touring the americas He used his diplomatic skills to try to rally support ahead of Friday’s ceremony.

Gonzalez met with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Monday, as well as Congressman Mike Walz, whom President-elect Donald Trump will nominate as national security adviser after he takes office on January 20.

Hours after announcing Tudares’ kidnapping on Tuesday, González said his next stop would be Panama.

“We will continue,” he wrote to X.

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