International Media Outlets Must Respect the Venezuelan Elections: Rodriguez
The media should not feed fantasies aimed at denying the results of the elections, the National Assembly president said.
On Sunday, Jorge Rodriguez, the campaign manager for President Nicolas Maduro, asked the international media outlets accredited in Venezuela to respect the nation’s electoral process and “tell the truth” during the presidential elections scheduled for July 28.
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“The media should not feed fantasies aimed at denying the results of the elections,” said Rodriguez, who is also president of the Venezuelan National Assembly.
Reiterating earlier complaints that “the Venezuelan far-right is prepared to not recognize the truth and the electoral result,” Rodriguez said the government will always denounce such tactics and urged the press to tell and respect the truth.
Rodriguez’s remarks were in response to a statement released Saturday by the Venezuelan Foreign Press Association (Apex), which demanded “respect for the work of international media and agencies” accredited in the country, and called for “not involving the international press in the political debate.”
On Sunday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro reaffirmed that the members of the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) support him as a presidential candidate.
“I have the experience and I am prepared. I have the support of a beautiful and brave people. I have the support of the FANB and the civic-military-police union,” he said in Barinas state.
So far, the Venezuelan leader has visited over 100 cities as part of the election campaign, which began on July 4 and will end on Thursday, when chavismo will carry out a 12-hour “takeover” of Caracas. On July 28, over 20 million citizens are expected to cast their ballots to elect a president from among 10 candidates.
