International
Millions of Venezuelans abroad will not be able to vote for government obstacles
Venezuela currently has a population of approximately 29.4 million people, of which 21.4 million can theoretically vote in the presidential elections on July 28, both inside and outside the country.
However, due to the various requirements imposed by the Government for electoral registration abroad, only 69,211 Venezuelans abroad are authorized to pay – less than in the previous Venezuelan elections, which were 110,000 -, which represents a small fraction of the approximately eight million Venezuelans who, according to UN data, have emigrated, a figure that the Executive of Nicolás Maduro reduces to two million.
And even if there were no obstacles, not all Venezuelans who are abroad could vote because a large part of them are minors and others, fundamentally those who emigrated many years ago, lack interest in these elections.
Of the eight million Venezuelans who live outside their country, about five million are of legal age and should be able to vote in the elections, but only 69,000 are authorized to do so, explains Estefanía Parra Anselmi, international coordinator of Voluntad Popular and member of the command that groups the opponents who reside in Spain, to EFE.
About three million Venezuelans currently live in Colombia, making it the country that has welcomed the most citizens of that nationality.
This population arrived looking for better horizons due to the political, social and economic crisis in Venezuela.
According to the Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), there are 2.9 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Colombia, which places this country as the regional epicenter of the Venezuelan exodus.
A good part of this population expects that the elections of July 28 will generate a change in their country, although many will not be able to vote due to difficulties in registering and the high cost of obtaining documents such as the valid passport, which allows you to vote abroad.
Spain is the European country that welcomes the most Venezuelan migrants, including many opposition leaders who left Venezuela in recent years.
Among them are Dinorah Figuera, Antonio Ledezma, Diego Arria and Leopoldo López, who are part of the Spanish campaign command of María Corina Machado.
These opponents have worked in favor of the candidacy of Edmundo González Urrutia and hope to defeat Maduro at the polls.
However, they fear that Maduro will not accept the results or manipulate them, since they consider his regime as one that resorts to cheating and fraud.
Therefore, they have asked European governments to take measures to prevent fraud.
Parliamentarians from European and Latin American countries will travel to Venezuela to be present in the presidential elections, and the opposition abroad has called for several demonstrations in support of their candidate.
Venezuelans in Brazil will face difficulties voting, since they could only register at the Embassy in Brasilia and the Consulate General of São Paulo, the only places where they will be able to vote on July 28.
Of the seven consulates that Venezuela had in Brazil, five were closed between 2019 and 2022 during the Government of Jair Bolsonaro, and did not reopen after the normalization of relations.
About 125,000 Venezuelans covered by Operation Reception live in Brazil, and it is estimated that in the last six years another 400,000 have entered, although many have continued to other countries. There are no clear figures on how many Venezuelans remain in Brazil in a position to vote.
About 1.5 million Venezuelans live in Peru, of which about 900,000 are of voting age.
Despite this, according to figures from the National Electoral Council (CNE) only 589 are authorized to vote.
Most have not been able to register due to the obstacles imposed by the authorities, which require permanent residence, a valid passport and identity card.
On July 28, the Venezuelan Consulate in Buenos Aires will open its doors to vote on a day that will include a migrant fair and the reception of Argentine leaders who collaborated in the search for freedom in Venezuela.
Elisa Trotta, a human rights activist, explains that the accompaniment seeks to support Venezuelan voters in Argentina.
In Argentina, 2,638 Venezuelans will vote, a small figure compared to the nearly 250,000 Venezuelan residents in the country.
Trotta affirms that this vote has a special symbolism and that the authorized will do so to express their desire for political change.
In Italy it is difficult to establish the number of resident Venezuelans because the majority have dual nationality.
According to the Venezuelan Embassy in Italy, there are 13,548 Venezuelans in the country, but the figures of the opposition command of María Corina Machado estimate between 300,000 and 350,000 Italian-Venezuelans.
The requirements imposed by the consulates have made it difficult for many to vote.
María Claudia López, president of the Italian-Venezuelan association and the opposition campaign, denounces that the consulates have asked for requirements that are impossible to meet, preventing many from voting.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
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