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“Venezuela is on a bomb” and violence “could erupt at any moment” if Nicolás Maduro’s government and electoral authorities do not provide a clear response to the social unrest caused by the results of the presidential elections, which have been questioned by the political opposition and some countries around the world.

Here’s what a Venezuelan historian said Margarita Lopez Maya, former president of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA).

During an interview with Aristegui Live, He noted that Venezuelans had taken part in the presidential elections held last Sunday in large numbers. “And at night we saw how it was put together – which I think there is no longer much doubt about today – “major election fraud”, said.

The scientist noted that the preliminary results presented by the National Electoral Council (CNE) early Monday morning do not reflect reality. “Before that, the transmission of final information from polling stations was stopped. What has happened since then? “Venezuela is on the brink of a bomb,” he stressed.

The historian stressed that both serious sociologists and national observers pointed to the victory of the opposition candidate. Edmundo Gonzalez UrrutiaDemocratic Unitary Platform (PUD).

However, he said the official results not confirmed by protocols and that the proclamation of Maduro as winner, made by the CNE a few hours later, was made without completing the update of the figures published by the electoral body itself.

In this sense, he noted that The opposition received 73% of the minutes and spread them online, and that they showed that Gonzalez would have won with an “overwhelming majority” of the vote. more than 39 points ahead of Maduro.

“It created a social explosion. People started taking to the streets yesterday at noon and marched all night towards Miraflores. [donde se encuentra el palacio presidencial]They had to take President Nicolas Maduro to El Fuerte Tiuna. [instalación militar] “by helicopter because I think he was afraid for his life,” Lopez said.

He considers the situation “very delicate” and cited as an example the complaint of the opposition party Voluntad Popular about the arrest of its general coordinator Freddy Superlano, allegedly created by “some hooded men” as well as arrests reported this year.

“These were peaceful demonstrations, not only in Caracas but also in the interior. Of course, Venezuela is in a very delicate situation, there is a very strong authoritarianism, there are militias, armed groups, and when they reach the outskirts of the center of Caracas, where the presidential palace is, they encounter these armed groups and take action. the place of violence. We do not have official data yet, but at least “Three deaths have already been registered in different cities, with the exception of Caracas, and many students have been detained.”

He stressed that These were peaceful demonstrations. despite the Venezuelan government saying there were 23 wounded soldiers trying to control the situation.

He noted that the government Nicolas Maduro has systematically violated agreements those that were reached with the opposition at the dialogue tables, and those in which pre-election and post-election conditions were defined.

He considered the response given by several countries to be “very important,” such as some Latin American countries and the United States, which are demanding an independent audit of the elections. In the case of Brazil, this suggests that it could mediate a way out of the current situation, despite the fact that The signals sent by Maduro “were very weak.”

The scientist predicts that the repression against the population will continue, but she believes that this time society will not give in until the protocols are published and it is demonstrated that the figures released by the CNE do not correspond to reality.

Lopez Maya appreciates a social movement formed around the opposition leadership of Maria Corina Machado –who was disqualified from participating in the elections, and candidate Edmundo González Urrutia.

“Let’s see, a day and a half has passed, and the minutes don’t appear. And they don’t appear because they probably don’t exist. To such an extent, “Violence is hidden and can spill out at any moment,” he concludes.

Watch the full interview: