President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro he has been sworn in for a third six-year term after an election that saw his opponent Edmundo Gonzalez claim voter fraud and declare victory.
Launching a new term on Friday, Maduro opposes international pressure and sanctions led by the United States, which has recognized that Gonzalez is the winner of the July vote.
“May this new presidential term be a time of peace, prosperity, equality and a new democracy,” Maduro said, pledging to uphold the country's constitution. “I swear by history, on my life, and I will fulfill (my duty).”
Maduro's inauguration came a day after the opposition leader Maria Corina Machado He did not appear in public to lead protests against his rule. Machado's team said he was briefly detained during the demonstration.
“Now I'm in a safe place and I'm more determined than ever to continue with you until the end,” Machado said in a post after his release.
Maduro, a former bus driver, took office after the leftist leader's death Hugo Chavez in 2013. His rule has been marred by allegations of authoritarianism as well as economic and political problems.
In 2018, for example, he faced yet another presidential election, where several opposition leaders were banned from running.
After that, the opposition leader Juan Guaido He opposed Maduro's victory and took over the presidency. In 2019, the US and several allies in the Western Hemisphere recognized Guaido as the legitimate President of Venezuela.
That same year, Washington expanded sweeping penalties against Venezuela, exacerbating its economic problems. About 7.7 million people have fled the country, some because of political repression, others because of the economic crisis.
The July election gave hope to the opposition to oust Maduro peacefully, but the candidate was quick to declare victory, claiming he received 51 percent of the vote.
The country's electoral authorities have sided with Maduro, although they have not released the results of polling stations in Venezuela, sparking criticism of lack of transparency.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, have published what they say are official documents, showing that Gonzalez won by a wide margin.
Several leftist leaders in South America also criticized Maduro and questioned the outcome of the election.
Maduro's victory in the July 28 presidential race led to widespread protests in the weeks that followed, but the government's crackdown has curbed those protests.
About 2,000 people were arrested and 25 killed in the post-election protests.
Meanwhile, the opposition has tried to keep pressure on Maduro's government, calling for demonstrations this week in preparation for the inauguration. Several hundred protesters joined Machado on Thursday, although the turnout was smaller than the post-election protests.
Maduro's government has accused the opposition of conspiring with foreign forces to topple the president and issued an arrest warrant in September for Gonzalez, who fled the country and later granted asylum in Spain.
Gonzalez, a former ambassador, visited the US earlier this week and met with President Joe Biden as part of an inter-American tour.
The White House said that Mr. Gonzalez and Mr. Biden “expressed their deep concern for Nicolas Maduro and his representatives to use repression against peaceful people, democracy activists, and civil society”.
The US government has been referring to Gonzalez as the “president-elect” of Venezuela.