Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Atlanta on Saturday to protest how Venezuela’s authoritarian government is handling its July presidential election.
Demonstrators across the world gathered this weekend to show support for Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who challenged Nicolas Maduro in the election. The Maduro administration says it won the election, but independent vote counts by opponents show otherwise.
“We’re here because we hope everyone around the world will join us in our quest for freedom,” said Manuel Rodriguez. He’s from Venezuela and has lived in Atlanta for six years. “The people of Venezuela have spoken, and we don’t want Nicolas Maduro as president anymore. It’s as simple as that.”
Woodruff Park filled with demonstrators, many with the bright yellow, blue and red Venezuelan flag draped over their shoulders or emblazoned on baseball caps. Hundreds chanted, “Libertad!” between speakers calling for a free Venezuela over a megaphone.
“People in my country don’t even have the possibility to get healthcare, “Rodriguez said. “Why is that possible in the country with the largest oil reserves in the world?”
He said Venezuelans have fled to the U.S. in large numbers in recent years because of economic and social issues paired with the threat of political oppression for those who did not support the Maduro administration.
These things prompted former President Donald Trump to pause deporting some Venezuelans because of the political unrest.
The Biden administration then granted those fleeing Venezuela to the U.S. temporary protected status, protecting Venezuelans already in the U.S. from deportation or being detained by the Department of Homeland Security based on whether or not they have documentation outside of the temporary protected status.
Some protesters in downtown Atlanta held body-length pieces of paper with vote tallies that show Urrutia won more votes than Maduro. Many other protesters held signs with various calls for democracy and help for the country.
Erika Gomez had one of them.
“Imagine a country where you go to presidential elections and the government declares itself the winner, but the Electoral College refuses to publish results,” she said. “That’s what’s happening in Venezuela right now.”
Gomez is from Venezuela and has lived in Atlanta for the last 20 years. She said the Maduro administration’s rejection of a democratic voting process is just the latest in a long line of decisions that have hurt her home country.
“Extreme ways of government are not foreign to any country and no country is exempt from experiencing something like that,” she said. “Democracy is very fragile everywhere.”
