Spain: Venezuelans protest in Madrid to demand the recognition of González Urrutia as president

A significant number of Venezuelans protested in front of the Congress of Deputies (Madrid, Spain) to ask the government of Pedro Sánchez to recognize opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia as president-elect of Venezuela before lawmakers put him to a vote. In addition, they peacefully protested against the repression committed by the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro against citizens.

In the demonstration, which began in the mid-afternoon, the Venezuelans gathered there chanted in favor of González Urrutia, who has been forced into exile in Spain, and against Maduro. They also carried banners with different slogans such as, "For the freedom of Venezuela" or "President Edmundo."

Two notable Venezuelan opposition figures attended. The first of them was Antonio Ledezma, former Venezuelan mayor living in Spain, who assured to have "the firm hope that tomorrow the Congress of Deputies will recognize Edmundo González as president-elect of Venezuela."

Also present was Carolina González, daughter of González Urrutia, who conveyed some words dictated by her father to the citizens present there: "Venezuelans, in this beautiful demonstration, I want to ratify the commitment I made on July 28 with you. My gratitude goes to all those who voted for me and also to all those who were unable to do so due to the trickery of the National Electoral Council that prevented you from doing so. I call on the international community to contribute to ratify the will of the people for the restitution of democracy and freedom in Venezuela. María Corina and I assure you that this struggle we started will continue until we reach the goals we set for ourselves. I thank the Spanish government for giving me support and shelter and my family during these days. Compatriots, do not lose heart, we will not let you down."

Spanish gongress to vote on González Urrutia's legitimacy as president

Spanish lawmakers on Tuesday debated a bill put forward by the Popular Party (PP), which leads the opposition, to recognize González Urrutia as Venezuela's president-elect. A vote is scheduled for Wednesday.

PP already knows that it will have the support of Vox (conservatives) and other minority parties. It will not have support from the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), which currently governs Spain.

PSOE, the party of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, affirms that there is "no way to grasp" the initiative of its political rival, in addition to requesting that the work carried out by former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in Venezuela be recognized.