Since the start of Venezuela’s electoral campaign, a narrative has emerged. It suggested that supporting opposition leader María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia meant siding with the far right. This argument is not only simplistic but also overlooks the magnitude of Venezuela’s political crisis.

Within Venezuela, the support for the Machado-González Urrutia duo by a large sector of the opposition, which is plural and ideologically diverse, was driven by the need to present a united front against Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian regime. Even the traditional Chavista ally, the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV), did not support the regime. Instead, it backed the candidate Enrique Márquez from the Centrados party.

Democracy or dictatorship?

In the early hours of July 29, the president of the CNE proclaimed Maduro the winner of the presidential elections with 51.2% of the vote. González Urrutia came in second with 44.2%. Reactions quickly followed.

As days passed without the release of electoral records—showing results contrary to those held by the opposition and reports from the Carter Center and the UN Panel of Electoral Experts—various international figures and institutions spoke out about Venezuela’s severe political crisis. Again, some tried to argue that recognizing electoral fraud meant supporting the right, which is far from the truth.

Supporting Edmundo González Urrutia’s candidacy and his electoral victory does not mean endorsing Milei, Bukele, Trump, or Netanyahu. What is happening in Venezuela is not a simple alternation between left and right ideologies. It is a struggle against an authoritarian regime to restore democracy, where all ideological currents can coexist. This is the priority.

From the left wing, figures who prioritize human rights and democracy have taken a stand against Maduro’s self-proclamation as president. Personalities like Gabriel Boric and Senator Isabel Allende have clearly rejected it. Even Cristina Fernández, the former Argentine president and a traditional Chavista ally, called for the release of the electoral records.

These stances reflect a renewed left, distancing itself from automatic solidarities. This new left rejects not only the undemocratic measures of leaders like Milei or Bukele but also the human rights violations in Nicaragua, Cuba, and Russia.

However, other left-wing leaders like Zapatero and Monedero in Spain have turned a blind eye to Venezuela’s situation—whether due to personal interests or because they cling to the Cold War’s bipolar worldview. Some even openly support Maduro’s dictatorship, such as the president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro and the leaders of Bolivia, Cuba, and Nicaragua. Russia and Iran also back him.

Among those who look the other way, subtly supporting Maduro, are several female leaders from whom clearer stances in favor of human rights were expected—stances that could rejuvenate traditional leftism.

Women of the left and the Venezuelan crisis

One such woman is Mexico’s president-elect, Claudia Sheinbaum. She stated that it was not her place to comment on Venezuela’s situation, leaving it to the people and international organizations.

It is important to note the reports from the Carter Center and the UN Panel of Electoral Experts, which deny the democratic and legitimate nature of Venezuela’s electoral results. Additionally, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and its Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (RELE) reported state terrorism practices by Maduro’s government. These occurred “in a context of absolute lack of protection and vulnerability in the face of abuses of power for which there is no recourse for protection, since the control agencies respond to the regime and are part of the State’s repressive strategy.”

Despite this, Mexico’s president-elect not only refrained from commenting but was also reportedly inviting Maduro to her presidential inauguration in October. Similarly, Colombia’s current vice president, Francia Márquez, a champion of the “nobodies”—which refers to historically excluded Colombians—stated that she doesn’t know what happened in Venezuela because she is not there. Yet, she is not in Gaza either, but she rightly spoke out against the Palestinian genocide. However, she seems unable to see what’s happening next door, even though 2,900,000 Venezuelans in her country can tell her because they “fled” an authoritarian regime.

In Venezuela, it is the “nobodies”—the majority who once supported Chavismo—who spoke out against Maduro on July 28. They protested en masse on July 29 and were violently repressed by the regime’s military forces. These “nobodies” can no longer tolerate the internal situation. They are the ones without resources who will continue to emigrate, regardless of any border controls, and remain in Colombia due to the conditions in Venezuela.

It is true that María Corina Machado belongs to Venezuela’s traditional elite. However, today, the most powerful elite in Venezuela, the one with economic and political power, is in Miraflores, with prominent surnames like Maduro, Cabello, Rodríguez, and Padrino-López.

The instrumentalization of the Venezuelan crisis by Spanish female leaders

In Spain, the debate over Venezuela’s situation, led by female leaders, seems concentrated on a few women. On the right, Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo and Isabel Díaz Ayuso from the Popular Party support María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia. Both frequently speak about the situation, using it to attack  president Pedro Sánchez and his government for not taking a stronger stance against Maduro’s electoral fraud. This was evident during the Venezuelan rally in Madrid on August 18, 2024, where Ayuso, as president of the Community of Madrid, delivered a speech. She used the occasion to criticize Sánchez, politicizing the Venezuelan crisis for electoral gain.

On the left, Yolanda Díaz of Sumar, Spain’s second vice president and labor minister, argued on July 29 that the electoral results must be recognized because “that’s what democrats do.” This places her in the camp of the left that offers automatic solidarity, without analyzing the repression, human rights violations, or electoral fraud.

Similarly, Irene Montero of Podemos, former Minister of Equality under Sánchez, begrudgingly asks Maduro to show the records but accuses the Popular Party of supporting “the most right-wing coup plotters in Latin America.” By doing so, she positions the current Venezuelan leader as part of the democratic left, which is far from the truth.

Both Yolanda Díaz and Irene Montero claim to be feminists, which implies defending the rights of all women. These are the same rights that the Venezuelan regime violates on a daily basis for millions. As Washington Abdala, Uruguay’s ambassador to the OAS, passionately stated: “These are the same human rights, the same people sacrificing everything. Do you think eight million Venezuelans left on a world tour?”