Hipólito Mejía joins former presidents supporting Edmundo González’s return to Venezuela

Santo Domingo.- Former Dominican President Hipólito Mejía will accompany Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, along with nine other former Latin American presidents from the Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas (IDEA), in an attempt to have González sworn in as Venezuela’s president on January 10. This information was reported by the EFE news agency.

The group includes Colombia’s Andrés Pastrana, Mexico’s Felipe Calderón and Vicente Fox, Paraguay’s Mario Abdo Benítez, Costa Rica’s Laura Chinchilla, Bolivia’s Jorge Quiroga, Panama’s Mireya Moscoso and Ernesto Pérez Balladares, and Ecuador’s Jamil Mahuad and Guillermo Lasso. On Wednesday, the former presidents reaffirmed their support during a meeting in Panama, where Pastrana emphasized González’s constitutional claim to the presidency.

González is scheduled to meet with President Luis Abinader on January 9 before traveling to Venezuela with the former presidents. Despite the National Electoral Council’s report that Nicolás Maduro won 51.91% of the votes in the July 2024 elections compared to González’s 43.18%, González and his supporters continue to contest the results and push for his recognition as Venezuela’s president.