The key facts

  • Vente Venezuela scheduled nationwide protests for October 22 in all 23 states of Venezuela.
  • The main goal is the safe return of María Corina Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
  • The party backed Bernie Moreno's proposal to hold presidential elections on July 24, 2027.

October 22 Mobilization

Venezuela's main opposition party Vente Venezuela on Monday announced a nationwide mobilization scheduled for October 22, demanding the safe return to the country of the party's leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado. At a press conference in Caracas, the party's national leader Carlos Fernández said the demonstrations would cover all 23 states and unite a broad range of forces: civil society, trade unions, youth groups, and opposition parties.

Quotes and Demands

“On October 22, mothers, teachers, young people who want a prosperous future, all social strata, the Plataforma Unitaria, and political parties across the entire spectrum will take to the streets,” Fernández said, adding: “Cast aside your fears. María Corina is coming to unite Venezuela and accelerate the transition.” In addition to Machado's return, the opposition put forward three more key demands.

Elections on July 24, 2027

The first demand is setting a definitive date for presidential elections under the slogan “Election Day — Liberation Day!”. Vente Venezuela supported the proposal by US Congressman Bernie Moreno to schedule the vote for July 24, 2027 — a timeline that Machado has publicly endorsed.

Release of Prisoners and Lifting of Bans

The second demand is the immediate and unconditional release of all detained opposition activists and political dissidents. “Enough of keeping our brothers and sisters behind bars! Their families can no longer endure this,” Fernández stressed. The third demand is the restoration of full political rights and the repeal of administrative disqualifications against opposition leaders.

Negotiations Context

Fernández called the October 22 mobilization “the vanguard of peaceful mobilization” against the backdrop of deteriorating socio-economic conditions and infrastructure failures. “Venezuela is going through one of the hardest periods in its history. We face not only persecution, torture, and exile, but today we are dealing with a country in darkness, without water, where people are going hungry,” he said. The action was announced during the third round of negotiations on a political transition between representatives of the government and part of the opposition. The talks resumed shortly after Washington lifted sanctions on Jorge Rodríguez — the administration's chief negotiator and brother of interim president Delcy Rodríguez. A key item on the agenda is the lifting of political bans: Machado has officially demanded the immediate removal of the administrative disqualification imposed on her in 2023, which barred her from running in the previous presidential elections.