María Corina Machado hosts packed rally Caracas to close the Venezuelan electoral campaign, while Maduro's supporters do not show out

This Thursday, April 25, the campaign for the Venezuelan election concluded. Both the opposition and the Chavista regime summoned their supporters to Caracas. In order to avoid a confrontation, the Venezuelan opposition, behind its leader María Corina Machado and candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, was called to Avenida Las Mercedes, east of the capital. As for Maduro, he chose to take the historic Avenida Bolivar, in the center of Caracas.

Avenida Las Mercedes fell short. The opponents completely overflowed the streets and achieved what some witnesses consider to be the biggest anti-Chavista demonstration ever in Caracas. Several miles were crowded with tens of thousands of people shouting "Freedom!"

Maduro mobilized his supporters and public employees from all over the country to try to fill Avenida Bolivar. According to witnesses, there were more than 50 buses that traveled from different regions of Venezuela. They were full of public employees and militants of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). Even so, and despite the intimidation, Maduro barely managed to fill a quarter of Bolivar Avenue.

"People went, received the food they were given. They stayed for a while and went home," said Esteban Jimenez to VOZ, who was the manager of a small restaurant near the Chavista march.

Another person, who preferred to stay anonymous, told VOZ: "I know two people who went. They were transported in buses. They are opponents, but since they work with the state, they had to go. They arrived, they were given a T-shirt and after a while they left."

Machado not only was unable to bring in buses, but the regime put all kinds of obstacles so that people could not travel to Caracas to attend the opposition march. The whole capital was full of police checkpoints, which intimidated the demonstrators. However, the turnout was still historic.

"I have never seen so many people as today! But that's the least of it: I've never felt energy like today!" said Mariana Núñez to VOZ on the opposition march.

"We've been here for eight hours. We don't care. We will be here on Sunday for as long as it takes. Nobody can stop this!" she asserted.

A few hours before a crucial vote for Venezuela, the concern of imminent election fraud is growing. However, the opposition is betting that the turnout will be so massive, so overwhelming, that it will provoke a break in the governing structure that will give way to a transition.

For its part, the Maduro regime has threatened blood and repression if it loses the election.