CARACAS: Recent college graduate Jorge Salcedo says his whole life is in Venezuela: his family, his job, “everything.”
But on Sunday Presidential ElectionThe 23-year-old says his future may lie elsewhere.
The next day, a tearful Salcedo said the vote “was our last chance.”
“It feels like there’s nothing left to do in Venezuela.”
Venezuela’s National Electoral Commission declares president Nicolas Maduro His victory for a third six-year term sparked widespread protests and allegations of fraud.
According to the United Nations, more than seven million people have already left Venezuela since 2014 due to a severe economic and refugee crisis. Political crisis The causes are falling oil prices, corruption and government mismanagement.
Salcedo believes Maduro plans to join their ranks if he is elected for a third term.
“I don’t know if this regime will last in Venezuela, but if it does, I am sure that millions of young people will leave the country, just like me,” he said.
Independent pollsters have said Maduro could not have won, and opposition leaders and foreign observers have called on electoral authorities to release the results.
Salcedo believes the election was rigged. He stayed at a polling station late on Sunday “to make sure the presidential election is not stolen,” but soon witnessed fighting between Maduro’s supporters and opponents.
Young people cry at the thought of having to leave their families for a life abroad.
“I have Venezuela running through my veins,” he said.
“Leaving Venezuela is like having an important part of your body taken away. Leaving Venezuela just feels like being killed in life.”
But on Sunday Presidential ElectionThe 23-year-old says his future may lie elsewhere.
The next day, a tearful Salcedo said the vote “was our last chance.”
“It feels like there’s nothing left to do in Venezuela.”
Venezuela’s National Electoral Commission declares president Nicolas Maduro His victory for a third six-year term sparked widespread protests and allegations of fraud.
According to the United Nations, more than seven million people have already left Venezuela since 2014 due to a severe economic and refugee crisis. Political crisis The causes are falling oil prices, corruption and government mismanagement.
Salcedo believes Maduro plans to join their ranks if he is elected for a third term.
“I don’t know if this regime will last in Venezuela, but if it does, I am sure that millions of young people will leave the country, just like me,” he said.
Independent pollsters have said Maduro could not have won, and opposition leaders and foreign observers have called on electoral authorities to release the results.
Salcedo believes the election was rigged. He stayed at a polling station late on Sunday “to make sure the presidential election is not stolen,” but soon witnessed fighting between Maduro’s supporters and opponents.
Young people cry at the thought of having to leave their families for a life abroad.
“I have Venezuela running through my veins,” he said.
“Leaving Venezuela is like having an important part of your body taken away. Leaving Venezuela just feels like being killed in life.”
