“I swear”: outgoing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, with the support of the army and an administration under orders, was sworn in on Friday for a third six-year term despite opposition accusations of electoral fraud, isolation on the international scene and a difficult economic situation.
“I swear that this new presidential mandate will be one of peace, prosperity, equality and the new democracy. I swear it by history, I swear it on my life. I will keep my word!” he said in front of the President of the Assembly Jorge Rodriguez who then declared: “You are invested as constitutional president”.
Mr. Maduro arrived at the Palace of the National Assembly around 10:30 a.m. local time (2:30 p.m. GMT), passing between a hedge of soldiers in gala dress before entering the building where he shook hands with Cuban President Miguel Diaz for a long time -Canel, one of the rare heads of state present.
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.
The Assembly area was cordoned off by the police. The authorities have installed podiums and tents which are to be used for partying after the inauguration.
The government closed the border with Colombia at dawn on Friday, citing an “international plot aimed at disturbing the peace of Venezuelans”.
This announcement comes the day after opposition demonstrations contesting 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.
Opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia claims to have won this election and repeated Thursday, in the Dominican Republic, an hour by plane from Caracas, that he was the “elected president”. Without bending the one who succeeded Hugo Chavez in 2013 and has since ruled Venezuela with an iron fist.
“El 10, juro con Maduro por el futuro!” (on the 10th, I take an oath with Maduro for the future): the slogan in easy-to-remember rhymes was plastered on many walls for weeks. On Thursday, the government hit the nail on the head, with a march in support of the outgoing president which crossed part of the capital.
– “Kidnapping” ? –
The opposition demonstration brought together thousands of people shouting “we are not afraid!” or held signs reading “freedom cannot be begged, it must be conquered”.
It gave rise to some confusion at the end of the day when the opposition announced the “violent” arrest of its leader Maria Corina Machado.
A few dozen minutes later, the opponent’s team announced her release: “Leaving the rally, Maria Corina Machado (…) was taken by force. During her kidnapping, she was forced to record several videos and was subsequently released.
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 leader of the opposition had been living in hiding since the presidential election in which she was unable to run because she was declared ineligible. She supported the candidacy of Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia, who went into exile in September.
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”.
A wave of arrests also took place in the days preceding the inauguration of the head of state.
– The army, pillar of power –
As during the demonstrations of 2014, 2017 and 2019, which left more than 200 dead, Mr. Maduro was able to count on the support of the army, a pillar of his power, as well as on justice under orders.
“The military sector is even more crucial than it was before the election (…). Without control of military institutions, the government would find itself with extremely precarious power,” explains Mariano de Alba, an analyst international relations specialist working in London.
The socialist president, who promised during his electoral campaign an improvement in the economic situation, will have to find solutions to return to growth, Venezuela having recorded a contraction in its GDP of 80% between 2013 and 2023.
Isolated internationally, it will be difficult for him to lift the sanctions which he will therefore have to try to circumvent so that his country can exploit its immense oil reserves without having to sell them off due to the embargo.
