The main opponent of the Venezuelan government, Leopoldo López, resurfaced in social networks after three years of imprisonment and made a call to fight against the current president, Nicolás Maduro.
Today we are facing a very clear threat presented by Nicolás Maduro and those who accompany him with the Constituent Assembly. This threat seeks two things: the first is the annihilation of the Republic and the democratic State and the second is the absolute submission of the Venezuelan people,”
said López in a video.
López spent three years in the Ramo Verde military prison, accused of public instigation, association to commit crime and certain damages, after a demonstration against the government in 2014 that killed 43 people. However, earlier this month they gave him house arrest, due to health situations.
We have to stop it (the constituent assembly) with actions of peaceful fight, organization and deep commitment. With this effort we are doing to conquer democracy,”
added the leader.
For the main representative of the Venezuelan opposition, the 7.2 million Venezuelans who voted against the Constituent, on July 16th, embody the clamor of a people for compliance with the Political Constitution.
[Maduro,] rest assure that we will enforce this mandate […] I am certain of this because I know that when a nation decides to be free, nothing can prevent it from conquering freedom,”
stated López.
In the same video, which extends for 15 minutes, he called for a humanitarian channel to be opened to help Venezuelans, release political prisoners and decide an agenda of elections, both local and national.
The election of a Constituent Assembly is scheduled for this Sunday, in order to reform the State and draft a new Constitution. For the opposition this represents the last step for the administration of Maduro to become a dictatorship.