MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Calls for freedom echoed across South Florida on Monday as Venezuelan expatriates reacted to the contentious election results.
Overnight results declared Nicolás Maduro the winner of the Venezuelan presidential election with 51% of the votes, but the opposition claims Edmundo Gonzalez was the true victor with 70%.
“Libertad! Libertad!” -- which means “freedom” in Spanish -- was chanted by crowds of Venezuelans who gathered in Miami on Monday morning.
“I have faith that maybe a miracle can occur today,” said Janeth Rodriguez, a Venezuelan living in South Florida.
Tensions in Venezuela soared after officials loyal to Maduro announced his victory in the disputed vote, with both parties declaring themselves winners.
In Venezuela, people took to the streets, hoping for change after years of turmoil. Polling places had closed early Sunday evening.
Groups of Venezuelan expatriates gathered throughout South Florida this weekend to observe the historic election, from the former Venezuelan consulate in Brickell to Dolphin Mall.
“Millions in Venezuela and the four million Venezuelans in exile want to see a transition to a democratic government,” said Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
Maria Corina Machado, who led the opposition’s best chance in decades to oust Maduro, won primary elections but was banned from holding public office. She rallied support for the 74-year-old Gonzalez as a stand-in candidate.
Many Venezuelans in South Florida shared their hope for the future with Local 10′s Annaliese Garcia on Monday.
“I feel very hopeful that we can at least, if not go back to live there, spend Christmas and holidays with our family,” said South Florida resident Carmela Rincon.
As Maduro celebrated his victory with a drone display lighting up the sky with his image, Gonzalez said, “Our struggle continues, and we will not rest until the people are respected.”
South Florida leaders, including State Representatives Carlos Gimenez and Maria Elvira Salazar, are now urging the Biden administration to support Venezuela’s opposition and increase sanctions against Maduro’s regime following disputed election results.
“We recognize that Gonzalez is the true legitimate president. The only ones recognizing Maduro are the usual suspects— China, Russia, Cuba,” said Gimenez. “This shows these are our greatest enemies, and they are happy Maduro is president again, which in reality, he is not.”
Congressional Republicans are now pushing for increased international pressure on the Maduro government.
“It’s not only the sanctions against oil and gold -- it’s to punish anyone who does business with Maduro,” said Salazar. “If you are a business and you are a country that is doing business with Maduro, you are not going to do business with the United States.”
Doral Councilwoman Maureen Porras, an immigration attorney, also shared the concerns of local Venezuelan communities and said many residents in Doral hope the international community will apply pressure on Maduro.
“They are holding out the hope that there is going to be some sort of intervention, really calling for a fair count of those ballots that were cast because we don’t think they were legitimately counted,” said Porras.
South Florida resident Adelys Ferro, director of the Venezuelan-American Caucus, warns that failing to stabilize the situation could lead to another mass migration.
“Knowing what happened, we expect the regime to feel more international pressure than ever before and for countries close to the regime to seek support for a negotiation toward a democratic transition of power,” said Ferro. “Venezuela could become an ungovernable country, filled with protest as happened in 2014 and 2017, which could once again result in an exodus of millions of Venezuelans migrating to the US and other countries in the region. This must be the beginning of the end of the Nicolas Maduro dictatorship. Venezuelans want to live in peace and democracy.
“Could South Florida see another mass migration of Venezuelans?” Local 10′s Christina Vazquez asked Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
“We have TPS in place for Venezuelans, and we also have a parole program, so we have a number of lawful pathways that will allow for some legal absorption,” said Wasserman Schultz.
The Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee released the following statement Monday regarding the presidential election in Venezuela:
“Voters turned out in unprecedented numbers, showing great courage and commitment to democracy, and it is abhorrent that the Maduro regime is attempting to silence their voices.”
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