CARACAS
\nFresh demonstrations were expected in Venezuela Tuesday after one person died when security forces tried to break up protests triggered by a hotly disputed election result that gave Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a third term in power.
\nSecurity forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets Monday at angry protesters challenging the reelection victory claimed by Maduro but disputed by the opposition and questioned by many other countries.
\nThousands of people flooded the streets of several neighborhoods in the capital, chanting \u201cFreedom, freedom!\u201d and \u201cThis government is going to fall!\u201c
\nSome ripped Maduro campaign posters from street posts and burned them.
\nAt least two statues of Hugo Chavez, the late socialist revolutionary who led Venezuela for more than a decade and handpicked Maduro as his successor, were knocked down by protesters.
\nOne person died in northwest Yaracuy state and 46 were arrested in post-election demonstrations, Alfredo Romero, head of the Foro Penal rights group that specializes in political prisoner issues, said on social media platform X. He did not say what caused the death.
\nThe National Electoral Council (CNE) certified the reelection of Maduro, 61, to another six-year term until 2031.
\nMaduro dismissed international criticism and doubts about the result of Sunday\u2019s voting, claiming Venezuela was the target of an attempted \u201ccoup d\u2019etat\u201d of a \u201cfascist and counter-revolutionary\u201d nature.
\nOpposition leader Maria Corina Machado told reporters that a review of available voting records clearly showed that the next president \u201cwill be Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia,\u201d who replaced her on the ballot after she was barred by Maduro-aligned courts.
\nThe records showed a \u201cmathematically irreversible\u201d lead for Gonzalez Urrutia, she said, with 6.27 million votes to Maduro\u2019s 2.75 million.
\nShe called for families to turn out Tuesday for \u201cpopular assemblies\u201d nationwide to show support for a peaceful transition of power.
\n\u201cThere are millions of citizens in Venezuela… who want to see that their vote counts,\u201d she posted later on X.
\nMaduro\u2019s campaign manager Jorge Rodriguez, also called on X for \u201clarge marches starting this Tuesday to celebrate the victory.\u201d
\nIn Caracas on Monday, AFP observed members of the national guard firing tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters, some wearing motorbike helmets and bandanas tied over their faces. Some responded by throwing rocks.
\nProtests were reported even in poor areas of Caracas that had been bastions of support for Maduro. Shots were heard in some areas.
\n\u201cWe want freedom. We want Maduro to go. Maduro, leave!,\u201d Marina Sugey, a 42-year-old resident of Petare, a poor area of Caracas, told AFP.
\nThe elections were held amid widespread fears of fraud by the government and a campaign tainted by accusations of political intimidation.
\nThe CNE said on Monday Maduro had won 51.2 percent of votes cast compared to 44.2 percent for Gonzalez Urrutia.
\nWhen the opposition cried foul, Attorney General Tarek William Saab linked Machado to an alleged cyber \u201cattack\u201d seeking to \u201cadulterate\u201d the results.
\nInternational reactions
\nThe United Nations, United States, European Union and several Latin American countries called for a \u201ctransparent\u201d process, while allies including China, Russia and Cuba congratulated Maduro.
\nGonzalez Urrutia, a 74-year-old former diplomat, acknowledged on Monday the deep discontent with the CNE results and vowed that \u201cwe will fight for our liberty.\u201d
\nNine Latin American countries called in a joint statement for a \u201ccomplete review of the results with the presence of independent electoral observers.\u201d
\nThe US-based Carter Center, one of few organizations that had observers in Venezuela, urged the CNE to immediately publish detailed polling station-level results.
\nBrazil and Colombia also urged a review of the numbers, while Chile\u2019s president said the outcome was \u201chard to believe.\u201d
\nPeru recalled its ambassador and Panama said it was suspending relations with Venezuela.
\nThe Washington-based Organization of American States called an emergency meeting for Wednesday at the request of Argentina and other countries that challenged the CNE tally.
\nCaracas hit back, saying it was withdrawing diplomatic staff from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay.
\nIt also suspended flights to and from Panama and the Dominican Republic.
\nCriticism
\nIndependent polls had predicted Sunday\u2019s vote would end 25 years of \u201cChavismo,\u201d the populist movement founded by Chavez.
\nMaduro has been at the helm of the once-wealthy oil-rich country since 2013. The past decade has seen GDP drop by 80 percent, pushing more than seven million of Venezuela\u2019s 30 million citizens to emigrate.
\nHe is accused of locking up critics and harassing the opposition in a climate of rising authoritarianism.
\nIn the run-up to the election, he warned of a \u201cbloodbath\u201d if he lost.
\nSunday\u2019s election was the product of a deal reached last year between the government and opposition.
\nThat agreement led the United States to temporarily ease sanctions imposed after Maduro\u2019s 2018 reelection, rejected as a sham by dozens of Latin American and other countries.
\nSanctions were snapped back after Maduro reneged on agreed conditions.
\nVenezuela boasts the world\u2019s largest oil reserves but production capacity has been severely diminished in recent years.
\nMost Venezuelans live on just a few dollars a month and endure biting shortages of electricity and fuel.
\nEconomic misery in the South American nation has been a major source of migration pressure on the southern border of the United States, where immigration is a major presidential election issue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CARACAS Fresh demonstrations were expected in Venezuela Tuesday after one person died when security forces tried to break up protests triggered by a hotly disputed election result that gave Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a third term in power. Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets Monday at angry protesters challenging the reelection victory claimed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":421811,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-421794","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n