The opposition has called for nationwide protests against the sitting regime and President Nicolás Maduro. The protests began on Saturday afternoon, but Corina Machado's presence was a surprise, as she had been forced to keep a low profile due to feeling threatened.
She climbed onto a truck to lead the demonstration from there. The truck was surrounded by motorcyclists who drove in a cortège around the exposed opposition leader.
Machado had her presidential candidacy blocked by Maduro-loyal institutions. Ahead of the weekend's protests, Machado hoped that demonstrations would be held in 300 cities in Venezuela and abroad.
Support protests for the opposition were held in, among other places, Australia and France.
The protests, which have been ongoing since the election on July 28, when both President Maduro and the opposition declared themselves winners, have so far claimed 25 lives, nearly 200 have been injured, and over 2,400 have been arrested.
Regime loyalists responded by calling for support demonstrations for President Maduro on Saturday.
Maduro's claim to election victory has been questioned by several Latin American countries, the US, and the EU.
According to the opposition, protocols collected directly from over 80 percent of the polling stations show that their candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, won the election with a significant majority.
Nicolás Maduro portrays the opposition's claims of being the election winners as a coup attempt and has sworn to crush all resistance. Arrest warrants have been issued against opposition leaders González Urrutia and María Corina Machado.
The opposition, several Latin American countries, and the US are demanding that Venezuela present a detailed and verifiable election result. The regime has refused, citing that it is impossible. President Maduro has claimed that the electoral authority has been hacked.
The question of who actually won the presidential election has now been referred to the country's highest court, which is criticized by critics and the opposition as being Maduro-loyal.
Sources: EFE, El País, and others.
