By Luis De Jesus
20 Jul 2024, 23:55 PM EDT
The presidential candidate of Venezuela’s main opposition alliance, Edmundo González Urrutia, pledged on Saturday to transform the country into a “land of grace” with “open arms for all” if he wins the July 28 elections.
In a message directed especially at migrants, he assured that the nation will guarantee conditions so that Venezuelans who wish to return can develop and grow professionally.
The former ambassador expressed his hope that migrants can be reunited with their loved ones in their home country.
“We will make that daily dream of hugging your loved ones come true in your country. Rest assured that Venezuela will once again be that hospitable country where everyone wanted to come to achieve their dreams. That is what we will be again, a country with open arms for everyone,” said the standard-bearer of the Democratic Unitary Platform in a video posted on social media.
The candidate also addressed his message to those who fled because they felt threatened in their own land. He assured them that Venezuela will be a country of reconciliation and encounter, where everyone will be welcome.
“Change is coming, and it is coming for everyone. Long live a free Venezuela,” added González Urrutia, one of the 10 candidates in the upcoming elections, which will also see the election of Nicolás Maduro, who is seeking a third consecutive term since taking power in 2013.
According to the Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants, some 7.77 million Venezuelans have left the country, although the government reduces this figure to about 2 million.
On Friday, Edmundo González Urrutia promised a country where no one is persecuted for thinking differently and reiterated his commitment to free political prisoners.
In Venezuela, the non-governmental organization Foro Penal counts 301 political prisoners and, from the beginning of 2024 until last Tuesday, 114 arbitrary arrests for political purposes” of which 102 are related to the team or tours of González Urrutia and the leader María Corina Machado, who supports the candidacy of the former ambassador.
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