Crowds of people on Saturday gathered in downtown San Antonio with printed, long vote tally receipts and Venezuelan flags in hand.
“Who are we? Venezuela. What do we want? Freedom,” demonstrators chanted on the Alamo Plaza.
They joined millions more across the world in protest calling on the South American country to release voting tallies and demanding that authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro recognize that Edmundo Gonzalez won the July 28 presidential election.
The U.S. and other countries have rejected Maduro’s victory claim. Maduro was declared the winner by Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, which is loyal to him, and hasn’t released detailed voting data, unlike previous elections.
At the Alamo, Latinos from other countries joined Venezuelans in holding up signs, “Venezuela needs the world’s help,” “Election fraud in Venezuela. Maduro vete ya.”
They held up printed election results released by Venezuela’s opposition in their hands, which show Gonzalez held 67% of the vote and Maduro, 30%.
“Eight million Venezuelans had to leave for the conditions they went through, they’re not in their land, they’re not in their patriarchy. But they’re proudly carrying on the message that we want a country with freedom and a country of change and progression,” area resident Marlon Pacheco yelled into the mic.
On July 28, more than 3,000 Venezuelans gathered in North San Antonio, anxiously watching the election results at Zulia’s Kitchen, a Venezuelan restaurant.
The election was significant for the country, said event organizer Paola Martinez, committee member of Con Venezuela, a local committee of Venezuelan area residents.
She said voters in Venezuela showed up to the polls to vote Maduro out, who has ruled over the country and its economic collapse since 2013.
On Saturday afternoon, people in the crowd teared up when 11-year-old Amelia Rangel took the mic to say she hopes to experience the Venezuela her parents tell her they knew before.
“Everyone here knows Gonzalez won, and soon, we’ll be able to go back and know the Venezuela our parents tell us about,” Amelia said.
Under Maduro, millions have migrated from Venezuela to the U.S. and San Antonio, where they have access to basic necessities like electricity, food and medicine.
And the freedom to show up to public demonstrations like this one, said Karina Leon, who proudly shouted and clapped in the crowd.
Leon, who has lived in San Antonio for 10 years, said she decided to protest to support her home country.
“It’s essential right now so that we see our country libre (free),” she said in Spanish. “Everyone is united for one cause.
Venezuela libre.”
