Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been sworn in for a third six-year term after a contentious election that saw his opponent Edmundo Gonzalez claim voter fraud and declare victory.
By starting a new term on Friday, Maduro is defying international pressure and sanctions led by the United States, which has recognised Gonzalez as the winner of the July vote.
“May this new presidential term be a period of peace, of prosperity, of equality and the new democracy,” Maduro said, pledging to comply with the laws of the country. “I swear on history, on my life, and I will fulfil [my mandate].”
Maduro’s inauguration came a day after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado made a rare public appearance to lead a protest against his rule. Machado’s team said she was briefly detained during the demonstration.
“I am now in a safe place and with more determination than ever before to continue with you until the end,” Machado said in a social media post after her release.
Maduro, a former bus driver, rose to power after the death of left-wing leader Hugo Chavez in 2013. His tenure has been marred by accusations of authoritarianism as well as economic and political crises.
In 2018, for instance, he faced another contested presidential election, with several top opposition leaders barred from competing in the race.
In the aftermath, opposition leader Juan Guaido challenged Maduro’s victory and claimed the presidency. In 2019, the US and several of its allies in the Western Hemisphere recognised Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela.
That same year, Washington expanded its sweeping sanctions against Venezuela, deepening its economic problems. Nearly 7.7 million people have fled the country, some due to allegations of political repression, others due to the economic instability.
July’s elections offered the opposition hope of peacefully toppling Maduro, but the incumbent was quick to declare victory, claiming that he received 51 percent of the votes.
The country’s electoral authorities have sided with Maduro, though they have not released the usual breakdown of results from Venezuela’s polling stations, fuelling criticism over the lack of transparency.
The opposition, meanwhile, has published what it claims are official tally sheets, showing that Gonzalez won by a large margin.
Several left-wing leaders in South America have also criticised Maduro and questioned the election results.
Maduro’s victory in the July 28 presidential race prompted widespread protests in the weeks following the results, but a government crackdown has since dampened the demonstrations.
An estimated 2,000 people were arrested and 25 killed during the post-election demonstrations.
Still, the opposition has sought to maintain pressure on the Maduro government, calling for protests this week in the lead-up to the inauguration. Several hundred demonstrators joined Machado on Thursday, though the crowds were noticeably smaller than in the post-election protests.
Maduro’s government has accused the opposition of conspiring with foreign forces to overthrow the president and issued an arrest warrant in September for Gonzalez, who fled the country and was subsequently granted asylum in Spain.
Gonzalez, a former diplomat, visited the US earlier this week and met with President Joe Biden as part of a tour of countries in the Americas region.
The White House said Gonzalez and Biden “expressed deep concern regarding Nicolas Maduro and his representatives’ unacceptable and indiscriminate use of repression against peaceful protestors, democracy activists, and civil society”.
The US government has been referring to Gonzalez as the “president-elect” of Venezuela.
