Around 30 Venezuelans living in Mérida made a public demonstration at the Plaza Grande in order to request that the countries that host Venezuelan citizens get out of their “neutrality” and ignore the results of the electoral process in that nation, that took place on Sunday, May 20, and which they described as “fraudulent” given the fact that Nicolás Maduro, his current president, was the only name that appeared on the ballots.
“Many people tell us that we allow the dictatorship, that we voted for it, but that is not true; for years we have tried to get rid of that oppression, but until now we have not been able to do so; oppositors are imprisoned or killed. We are convinced that we will not be able to get rid of the dictatorship without the help of our sister countries, ” explained Zenaid Hecht Mendoza, a Venezuelan surgeon by profession.
The protesters belong to the “20M” movement, which tries to ask the governments of the countries where Venezuelans reside to take measures in order to help them.
“If we can put an end to the dictatorship, it would be beneficial not only for the people of Venezuela but for the 5 million Venezuelans outside of their country, as more and more people is getting out of the country”, Hecht Mendoza said.
In the same way, they asked refugee camps to be created in Mexico, such as those that exist in Brazil, Colombia and Peru, which would be an ideal option for a big number of their friends and relatives who want to flee Venezuela.
The demonstrators also said that they need Mexico to help them to obtain new passports so they can naturalize as Mexicans, because they say that the Venezuelan government refuses to renew them.
Source: SIPSE
