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Thousands of people have taken to the streets across Venezuela demanding free elections and political reforms, marking the first major nationwide anti-government protests by opposition supporters in nearly two years, Al Jazeera reported.
Demonstrations were held in the capital Caracas and the cities of Valencia, Maracay, San Cristobal and Maracaibo. The protests were organised by Vente Venezuela, a movement led by opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado.
US President Donald Trump and Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez have spoken about holding elections, but no date has yet been announced to elect a successor to former president Nicolas Maduro.
Venezuela’s political landscape changed significantly after Maduro was detained in a US military operation in January.
Machado has called for elections to be held by July 2027. She is currently outside Venezuela after spending nearly a year in hiding following the disputed 2024 election.
Leiosmari Hernandez, an 18-year-old cosmetology student who joined a protest north of Maracay, said she was pleased to see so many people gathering because it gave her hope for change.
She said the rising value of the US dollar had contributed to various hardships, personal difficulties and problems with her studies.
Despite these challenges, she remained hopeful about Venezuela’s future and Machado’s potential leadership as the country’s next leader and president.
Hernandez said she had also participated in protests when the situation was more difficult. She now feels less afraid than before to make her voice heard, she added.
Delcy Rodriguez, a longtime leader of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), has served as the country’s interim president since January 3.
Party leaders have faced allegations of human rights violations, including the arbitrary arrest, imprisonment and torture of political opponents.
The PSUV has remained in power despite Maduro’s detention in the US military operation. Rodriguez’s government is running the country with support from the White House, while Trump has expressed backing for the leadership of Maduro’s former vice-president.
Meanwhile, the United States continues to exert pressure on the Venezuelan government to implement reforms while seeking to maintain influence over the country’s oil resources.
