Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado risks arrest by joining anti-government protests

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) —

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Thursday left her hideout for the first time in months, risking arrest as anti-government protesters made a last-ditch attempt to stop President Nicolás Maduro from being sworn in to another term after a disputed election.

The protests are taking place a day before the ruling party-controlled National Assembly is scheduled to swear in Maduro to a third six-year term despite credible evidence that he lost the presidential election. Machado has called on supporters to demonstrate across Venezuela in order to force him out of office.

Machado joined demonstrations in the country’s capital, Caracas. She has not been seen publicly since appearing suddenly at the last major opposition protest in August.

Machado, a former lawmaker, won the presidential primary of the main opposition coalition last year before the Maduro-controlled Supreme Tribunal of Justice banned her from running for office. Her coalition then chose retired diplomat Edmundo González as a last-minute stand-in candidate for the July 28 election.

The Machado-González campaign collected tally sheets from more than 85% of electronic voting machines and posted them online, saying they showed González had won with twice as many votes as Maduro. That contradicted the results that electoral authorities loyal to Maduro announced after polls closed.

The U.S.-based Carter Center, invited by Maduro’s government to observe the election, has said the tally sheets published by the opposition are legitimate.

The National Assembly, which like all institutions in Venezuela is controlled by the ruling socialist party, is scheduled to swear in Maduro on Friday to another six-year term. In anticipation, Machado has been calling for mass protests to block that from happening.

Early Thursday, the normally bustling streets of Caracas were lifeless as schools, businesses and government agencies shuttered fearing violence, and riot police were out in force to try to quell any unrest.

By midday, there was a relatively small turnout for the protests. Venezuelans who’ve witnessed Maduro’s security forces round up scores of opponents and regular bystanders since the July election were reluctant to mobilize in the same numbers as they have in the past.

“Of course, there’s fewer people,” said empanada vendor Miguel Contrera as National Guard soldiers carrying riot shields buzzed by on motorcycles. “There’s fear.”

Those demonstrators that did show up blocked a main avenue in one opposition stronghold Thursday to shouts of “Freedom! Freedom!” Many were senior citizens and dressed in red, yellow and blue, answering Machado’s call to wear the colors of the Venezuelan flag. All repudiated Maduro and said they would recognize Edmundo González — Machado’s last minute stand-in on the ballot — as Venezuela’s legitimate president.

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Goodman reported from Miami.