Venezuelans march for an election date in first nationwide protest in nearly two years

Thousands of Venezuelans marched through Caracas and at least four other cities on Thursday to demand a date for a presidential election, in the first nationwide protest the opposition has staged in nearly two years.

The rallies were called by Vente Venezuela, the movement led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, who has been outside the country for close to a year. Supporters gathered in Valencia, Maracay, San Cristóbal and Maracaibo as well as the capital. Machado says a vote must take place by July 2027.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, of the long-ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), has led the country since 3 January, after US forces seized Nicolás Maduro in a military raid. Both Rodríguez and US President Donald Trump have said there will be elections. Neither has named a day.

Hope on the streets

In Maracay, north of Caracas, 18-year-old cosmetology student Leosmary Hernandez joined hundreds of others. “Seeing this makes me happy because I know change is possible,” she said. “I have high hopes for my country and for our next leader and president, Maria Corina.”

She said she felt braver than before. “I’m even less afraid today because I want my voice to be heard,” she said.

Government security forces kept a light presence at the protest sites, and many of the marches in smaller cities had broken up before dark.

Two marches in the capital

The PSUV called its own supporters out in Caracas on the same day, marching from Plaza Venezuela towards the presidential palace to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The opposition had planned to gather at the same plaza two hours later and moved its rally to a nearby spot. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello was shown on state television at the ruling party’s march.

Leaders of the PSUV have long been accused of rights abuses against dissidents, including jailing opponents.

Talks without Machado

A US-backed dialogue between one opposition faction and the interim government held its latest session this month. Its aim is to remake the Supreme Tribunal of Justice and the National Electoral Council, both of which the opposition sees as controlled by the ruling party. Machado’s movement is not taking part, although she has said she will not stand in its way.

The dispute goes back to the July 2024 presidential vote. The electoral council declared Maduro the winner but never published full results. The opposition says tally sheets it collected show that its candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, Machado’s stand-in after she was barred, won comfortably. González Urrutia now lives in Spain.

Vente Venezuela held a smaller march in Caracas on 28 July, the second anniversary of that vote, when crowds chanted “set the date, we’ll put the votes”. Thursday’s protests carried that demand across the country for the first time.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, face drug trafficking and torture charges in the United States. Both have pleaded not guilty.

What comes next

The opposition has not announced a follow-up date. Pressure on Rodríguez to set an electoral calendar is likely to grow as Machado’s July 2027 deadline draws closer and as the talks on the court and electoral council continue.