History Repeats Itself as US Announces It Recognizes Edmundo GonzĂĄlez as President-Elect of Venezuela

Edmundo GonzĂĄlez. Photo: X.

Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond
From Venezuela and made by Venezuelan Chavistas

Edmundo GonzĂĄlez. Photo: X.
By Pablo Meriguet – Nov 23, 2024
Blinkenâs declaration along with the advance of the BOLIVAR Act in US Congress, could mark the beginning of another US-led campaign to wear down the Maduro government, which will undoubtedly intensify under Trump.
With just two months left before the end of the Biden administration, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the formal recognition of Edmundo GonzĂĄlez as the legitimate president-elect of Venezuela. In his X account, he wrote âThe Venezuelan people spoke resoundingly on July 28 and made Edmundo GonzĂĄlez the president-elect. Democracy demands respect for the will of the voters.â
Washington, in an attitude that some have labeled as interference, never hid its support for GonzĂĄlez even before the July 28 elections. Until now, it had never formally recognized the Venezuelan opposition leader, who is now in Spain, as the next president, despite at one point backing the oppositionâs claims of victory. This change of attitude does not seem to be a solitary decision of the United States but a coordinated action among several countries.
On November 20, the Italian Prime Minister, the right-wing Giorgia Meloni, also recognized GonzĂĄlez as the winner of the last elections in the Caribbean country. âWe do not recognize the proclaimed victory of Maduro, the result of very non-transparent electionsâ, said Meloni in a press conference with her counterpart Javier Milei, President of Argentina. In this regard, Meloni added âThe crisis that Venezuela is going through is an issue that, for both Italy and Argentina, is particularly important,â confirming the clear interest that extreme right-wing governments have in Venezuelaâs internal situation.
This strategy of delegitimization and attempt to erode the international credibility of Venezuelan political institutions was already applied in 2019 when the United States and several countries belonging to its geopolitical orbit recognized Juan GuaidĂł as Venezuelaâs president, even going so far as to hand over billions of dollars of Venezuelaâs foreign assets, as well as control of CITGO.
The script seems to be repeating as US Congress prepares to legislate tough sanctions against the South American and Caribbean nation. On Monday, November 18, the US House of Representatives passed the BOLIVAR Act which would intensify existing existing sanctions by âprohibiting the US government from contracting with any person that has business operations with the illegitimate government of NicolĂĄs Maduro, as well as any successor government of Venezuela not recognized as legitimate by the United States.â
Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz who introduced the act, stated, âOver the last decade, Iâve fought for tough sanctions against the Maduro regime, robust humanitarian aid, and international pressure to protect human rights and the rule of law in Venezuela. But unless the US divests from shady corporate interests that enable Maduroâs corruption and election theft, we canât truly say we are committed to the Venezuelan people.â She added, âthis bipartisan legislation that will cut off Maduroâs support network and send the clear message that Americans will not tolerate anti-democratic repressionâand we certainly wonât subsidize it.â The BOLIVAR Act now heads to the Senate, and if passed, would need approval from the president.
Caracas repudiates Blinkenâs statements
According to official data from Venezuelaâs electoral authority, NicolĂĄs Maduro, of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), obtained 51.95% of the valid votes, while GonzĂĄlez, of the United Democratic Platform, reached 43.18%. Although the opposition and certain international organizations did not recognize the results, the Venezuelan judiciary, after an audit of the results, declared that Maduro was the winner. The controversy went on for several weeks, but the truth is that Maduro is currently in the presidential chair, while GonzĂĄlez is in Spain.
Venezuelan Secretary of State, Yvan Gil Pinto, harshly repudiated the US recognition of GonzĂĄlez as alleged president of Venezuela: âThe only place you donât go back from is ridiculeâŚHowever, Blinken, a confessed enemy of Venezuela, insists on doing it again, now with a GuaidĂł 2.0 [Edmundo GonzĂĄlez] supported by fascists and terrorists subordinated to the battered US policy.â
Likewise, Gil Pinto affirmed that during the few days that Blinken will occupy the post of Secretary of State âHe should dedicate himself to reflect on his failures, get rid of the imperial and colonial complexes and go write the memoirs of how the Bolivarian Revolution made him bite the dust of defeat, just like his predecessors.â
For his part, Jorge Arreaza, Executive Secretary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America â Peoplesâ Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP), said via Telegram âThere is a popular saying that goes: man is the only animal that stumbles twice with the same stone. The ruling elite in WashingtonâŚfor 200 years stumbles and stumbles over the dignity of the Venezuelan people and does not end up accepting its defeat.â
While it was never abandoned, Washington appears to doubling down on its strategy to undermine the Bolivarian Revolution by diplomatically isolating Venezuela and imposing a greater number of economic sanctions to suffocate its economy.