Maria Corina Machado, the leader of the opposition political party in Venezuela, called for “enormous” demonstrations against Maduro to be held on Dec. 1 throughout the country. According to reports, Machado revealed her plans for protests while speaking to other anti-Maduro activists during a virtual meeting over the weekend. During the meeting, she also stressed the urgency of taking action against Maduro before the start of Venezuela’s next presidential term on Jan. 10. 

“This Dec. 1 will be a unique demonstration,” Machado said.

Machado led many protests and demonstrations against Maduro in July regarding Venezuela’s presidential elections. Maduro was announced as the winner, although it is believed that he lost the election. Instead of admitting defeat, the authoritarian left-wing leader used government agencies in Venezuela to claim that he won. When asked to provide evidence of voter records showing that Maduro won, the Venezuelan president and his regime refused to do so. 

“We have the final stretch ahead of us,” Machado said. “Everyone knows what happened on July 28, and everyone knows that Venezuela will be free. It is up to us to lead this process and ensure, as we are doing, that each of the different actors, inside and outside the country, do what they are supposed to do.”

After the election in July, thousands of protesters objected to the election results and held many demonstrations for weeks after Maduro refused to admit defeat. He was criticized and scolded by Machado and his opponent in the presidential election, Edmundo Gonzalez. Maduro’s regime eventually cracked down on opposition and dissenting voices and arrested thousands. Gonzalez was forced to flee the country due to security concerns and other threats and was granted asylum in Spain. 

Much of the international community has condemned Maduro for not honoring the votes of his country’s citizens. In August, the European Union announced it would not recognize Maduro’s “democratic legitimacy.” 

“We cannot accept the legitimacy of Maduro as elected president. He will remain president, de facto,” said Josep Borrell, EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice president of the European Commission. “But we deny democratic legitimacy based on a result that cannot be verified.”

In September, the United States sanctioned several Venezuelan government officials for their supposed roles in the country’s election fraud. Then, last week, the United States officially recognized Gonzalez as Venezuela’s “president-elect” with a post on X by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. 

“The Venezuelan people spoke resoundingly on July 28 and made @EdmundoGU the president-elect,” Blinken posted. “Democracy demands respect for the will of the voters.” 

Machado, meanwhile, expressed optimism about Maduro having to admit defeat and leave office. Claiming that “no one is going to turn the page on Venezuela,” she said that international pressure would eventually help the opposition emerge victorious. Of the international community, Machado said that opposition efforts have “more allies, and the actions will be firmer, more decisive, until the regime understands that time is up.” 

“Their only option is to accept negotiations with us, and to do that, we have to act now,” Machado said to Mena FN. “This first of December will be a unique, unprecedented protest. The whole world will focus on the cause of a country that has decided to go all the way.”