The Diplomat Venezuelan opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia have thanked King Felipe VI in a letter for his support for "the fight for democracy and freedom" in Venezuela, considering that the joint statement signed last week in the Dominican Republic has the "clear institutional and personal support" of the Spanish monarch. Felipe VI led the Spanish delegation at the start on Friday of the new mandate of the Dominican president, Luis Abinader, an occasion that dozens of countries, including Spain, took advantage of to release a joint statement in which they demanded the publication of the minutes of the presidential elections held on July 28 in Venezuela. "On behalf of the people of Venezuela, we would like to express our deepest and most emotional gratitude," Machado and González said in a joint letter in which they affirmed that support such as that of Felipe VI allows them to harbor hope that the country will one day "be free," despite the "enormously difficult, even dramatic" moments of the present, Europa Press reports. "His Majesty's support for our cause is a powerful testimony that the international community defends for Venezuelans what every democracy claims for itself: the right to freely choose their destiny," they added. The Venezuelan opposition claims that the true winner of the July 28 meeting was González Urrutia and not the current president, Nicolás Maduro. Machado and González cite the Spanish Transition as an inspiring "example," a "historic and exemplary process" that, as they have pointed out, reflected "the desire for freedom, the will for reconciliation, respect for political pluralism and the incorruptible defense of a fair and equal law for all." They hope that the situation will be resolved and that the King can be in Venezuela "very soon", as they have stated in a letter dated last Monday and addressed to the Zarzuela Palace. "His Majesty's support for our cause is not only an act of solidarity with Venezuela. It is also a testimony of adhesion and loyalty to all of Latin America," they add, highlighting a "commitment to democracy" that Felipe VI would also seek to pass on to the new generations.In this sense, they say they are "sure" that these values will be maintained with Princess Leonor, in whom they see "hope for a new democratic generation."
