Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been sworn in for a third six-year term after a controversial election that saw his opponent Edmundo Gonzalez denounce electoral fraud and declare victory.
By starting a new term on Friday, Maduro is defying international pressure and sanctions led by the United States, which recognized Gonzalez as the winner of the July vote.
“May this new presidential term be a period of peace, prosperity, equality and new democracy,” Maduro said, pledging to respect the country’s laws. “I swear on history, on my life, and I will fulfill [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 protest.
“I am now in a safe place and with more determination than ever to continue with you until the end,” Machado said in a social media post after his release.
Maduro, a former bus driver, rose to power after the death of left-wing leader Hugo Chavez in 2013. His tenure was marred by accusations of authoritarianism as well as economic and political crises.
In 2018, for example, it faced another contested presidential election, with several senior opposition leaders unable to participate in the race.
In the aftermath, opposition leader Juan Guaido contested Maduro’s victory and claimed the presidency. In 2019, the United States and several of its Western Hemisphere allies recognized Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela.
The same year, Washington extended its draconian sanctions against Venezuela, worsening its economic problems. Nearly 7.7 million people have fled the country, some due to allegations of political repression, others due to economic instability.
July’s elections offered the opposition hope of peacefully overthrowing Maduro, but the incumbent president was quick to claim victory, claiming he had received 51 percent of the vote.
The country’s electoral authorities sided with Maduro, although they did not release the usual breakdown of results from Venezuela’s polling stations, fueling criticism of a lack of transparency.
The opposition, meanwhile, released what it claims are official scorecards, showing Gonzalez won by a wide margin.
Several left-wing leaders in South America have also criticized Maduro and questioned the election results.
Maduro’s victory in the July 28 presidential election sparked widespread protests in the weeks following the results, but government repression has since dampened the demonstrations.
An estimated 2,000 people were arrested and 25 killed during post-election protests.
The opposition has nevertheless sought to maintain pressure on the Maduro government, calling for protests this week in the run-up to the inauguration. Several hundred demonstrators joined Machado on Thursday, although the crowds were significantly smaller than during post-election demonstrations.
Maduro’s government 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 later granted asylum in Spain.
Gonzalez, a former diplomat, visited the United States 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 about the unacceptable and indiscriminate use of repression by Nicolas Maduro and his representatives against peaceful protesters, democracy activists and civil society.”
The U.S. government calls Gonzalez the “president-elect” of Venezuela.
