“I swear”: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, with the support of the army and an administration under orders, was sworn in on Friday for a third term during a ceremony described as a coup by the opposition and denounced by the United States and the EU.
“I swear that this new presidential mandate will be one of peace, prosperity, equality and the new democracy,” he said to the President of the Assembly Jorge Rodriguez who then declared: “ You are inaugurated as constitutional president.”
Once around his neck the presidential scarf and the large “necklace of the key of the Ark”, which opens the sarcophagus of Simon Bolivar, Maduro insisted: “Say what you want, do what you want, but this constitutional inauguration (…) could not be prevented and is a great victory for Venezuelan democracy.”
Nicolas Maduro even joked about the presence of opponent Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia who claims victory in the presidential election and had promised to take the oath in place of the outgoing president.
Reacting to a noise that disrupted the ceremony, Mr. Maduro quipped: “Has someone fallen? Edmundo has arrived?”, before continuing: “As I’m waiting for his arrival, I’m a little nervous.”
The ceremony, initially scheduled for noon, was brought forward an hour and a half, without notice. It lasted about two hours.
Nicolas Maduro arrived at the Palace of the National Assembly around 10:30 a.m. local (3:30 p.m. Swiss), passing between a hedge of soldiers in gala dress. He shook both hands for a long time with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, one of the rare heads of state present with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.
Most of the figures in power, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, key figures in the repression of post-electoral unrest, were also there.
“A coup d’état has been accomplished,” reacted the opposition in a published statement, denouncing a “usurpation of power by Nicolas Maduro (…), supported by brute force and ignoring the popular sovereignty forcefully expressed on July 28.
“It is Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia who must be invested today or tomorrow (…) The will of the people will be respected”, concludes the text.
Alfredo Romero, the president of the NGO Foro Penal which documents political detentions in Venezuela, reported Friday during the ceremony that he had recorded since the beginning of the year “49 arrests for political purposes, including 42 since January 7. And It continues.”
The area surrounding the Assembly in central Caracas was cordoned off by police while public television broadcast images of hundreds of supporters of Mr. Maduro marching in the streets.
“simulacrum”
The United States quickly denounced a “sham” and imposed new sanctions against Caracas, notably increasing the reward to $25 million for any information leading to bringing the Venezuelan leader to justice.
“Today, Nicolas Maduro organized an illegitimate presidential inauguration in Venezuela in a desperate attempt to seize power,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
London described Nicolas Maduro as “illegitimate” and imposed sanctions against fifteen key people in power.
Mr. Maduro has “no democratic legitimacy”, reacted the head of European diplomacy Kaja Kallas.
The inauguration ceremony comes the day after demonstrations by the opposition who contest the victory of the 62-year-old socialist head of state in the July 28 election, the proclamation of which was followed by deadly unrest and thousands of arrests.
After the inauguration ceremony, the UN Secretary General called, according to his spokesperson, for the release of all people “arbitrarily detained”.
Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia repeated Thursday in the Dominican Republic that he was the “president-elect.” Without bending the one who succeeded Hugo Chavez in 2013 and has since ruled Venezuela with an iron fist.
The army, pillar of power
On Thursday, the government called for a march in support of President Maduro in the capital, while the opposition organized a demonstration during which its leader, Maria Corina Machado, who has been living in hiding since the election, appeared to the first time in public since August. “We are not afraid!” chanted thousands of demonstrators.
A certain confusion marked the end of the day, when the opposition announced the “violent” arrest of its leader Maria Corina Machado, then her release.
The government denied this version of the facts, with Attorney General Tarek William Saab denouncing “a psychological operation with a view to triggering violence in Venezuela”.
The National Electoral Council (CNE) proclaimed Mr. Maduro the winner with 52% of the votes but without publishing the minutes, claiming to be the victim of computer hacking, a hypothesis considered not very credible by many observers.
The CNE’s announcement provoked demonstrations throughout Venezuela, which were harshly repressed. Results of post-election unrest: 28 dead, more than 200 injured and 2,400 people arrested for “terrorism”.
This article was automatically published. Sources: ats / afp
