Edmundo González | |
|---|---|
.jpg) González in 2025 | |
| Ambassador ofVenezuela toArgentina | |
| In office November 1998 – July 2002 | |
| President | Rafael Caldera Hugo Chávez |
| Ambassador ofVenezuela toAlgeria | |
| In office 1991–1993 | |
| President | Carlos Andrés Pérez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edmundo González Urrutia (1949-08-29)29 August 1949 (age 76) La Victoria, Aragua, Venezuela |
| Political party | Independent |
| Other political affiliations | MUD (2013–2021) PU (since 2021) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Pascual González Hilda Urrutia |
| Residence(s) | Madrid, Spain |
| Alma mater | Central University of Venezuela American University |
| Occupation | Diplomat,politician |
| Awards | Sakharov Prize (2024) |
Edmundo González Urrutia (born 29 August 1949) is a Venezuelan politician, analyst, diplomat, andopposition figure. A member of theUnitary Platform political alliance, González was its candidate in the2024 Venezuelan presidential election. Anational and international political crisis erupted following the Venezuelan government's announcement that incumbentNicolás Maduro won against González, which analysts argue was not based on the actual votes cast.[1][2]The reactions of the international community were divided: democratic countries including the U.S., most European nations, and some Latin American countries (such as Argentina, Peru, and Uruguay) rejected the official results and recognized González as the election winner,[3][4][5] while a number of autocratic governments including those ofRussia,China,Iran,North Korea, andCuba recognized Maduro as the winner.[6][7]
Maduro did not cede power, and instead asked theSupreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), composed of justices loyal to Maduro, to approve the results, which they did. An arrest warrant was issued for González, who was charged with "usurpation of functions, falsification of public documents, instigation to disobey the law, conspiracy and association";[8] he was granted asylum in Spain, leaving Venezuela on 7 September 2024.[9][10] He was awarded theSakharov Prize in December 2024, alongsideMaría Corina Machado. González has previously served as the Venezuelan ambassador to Argentina and Algeria. He also sits on theeditorial board ofEl Nacional.[11][12]
González was born inLa Victoria, Aragua, in 1949 to a schoolteacher andshopkeeper.[13][14][15] He received a degree in international studies from theCentral University of Venezuela and a Master of Arts ininternational relations from theAmerican University in the United States in 1981.[14][16][17]
González began his diplomatic career working in theMinistry of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela.[14] He was posted inEl Salvador andBelgium before serving as a first secretary for theVenezuelan Ambassador to the United States in 1978.[15][18]
From 1991 to 1993, González served as the Venezuelan Ambassador to Algeria.[17] He was the Director General of International Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 1999.[17] In November 1998,[19][20] González arrived in Argentina beside the newly inaugurated president of Venezuela,Hugo Chávez, when he presented his credentials to serve as ambassador.[21] While in Argentina, he promoted Venezuela's entry intoMercosur.[21] His posting as ambassador to Argentina ended in July 2002.[17]
From 2013 to 2015, González was the international representative for theVenezuelan opposition's political alliance, theDemocratic Unity Roundtable (UMD).[17] In the 2020s, González became the president of the opposition's political alliance, theUnitary Platform, the successor of MUD.[22][23]
After theNational Electoral Council (CNE) declaredMaría Corina Machado—who won the2023 Unitary Platform presidential primaries—ineligible for holding political office in the2024 Venezuelan presidential election and Machado's alternate candidateCorina Yoris faced complications preventing her from filing her candidacy, González was entered as a Unitary Platform presidential candidate.[12] On 20 April, the other major opposition candidateManuel Rosales suspended his candidacy and endorsed González.[24] On 26 March 2024, the CNE confirmed that González was a candidate for the 2024 presidential election.[25]
González stated in April 2024 in an interview withAgence France-Presse that "Venezuela must put aside [internal] struggles, political diatribe, confrontation, and we must all fight for Venezuela's recovery and transition. That is what's fundamental", arguing for his candidacy as one of "my contribution to unity, to the struggle for a democratic transition".[26] González stated in the same interview that "I have no personal aspirations... never, never, never imagin[ing] I would be in this position, but that is secondary to the challenge ahead." González still refers toMaría Corina Machado as "the leader of the opposition" and "the leader of this unitary process".[27] González stated his goal to be "bring[ing] Venezuelans together (and) the return[ing] of political exiles" followed by "the recovery of the economy and of democracy".[26]
According toThe Sunday Times González was "widely seen as the rightful winner" of a disputed election whose results announced by CNE electoral authorities—without providing evidence—cast Venezuela into apolitical crisis; most American democracies did not recognize Maduro as the winner, while "mostly authoritarian countries" including China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, and North Korea did.[7] The BBC andThe Guardian reported that Peru was the first country to recognize González as Venezuela's president-elect on 30 July,[28][29] a statement from the former Peruvian foreign minister that was corrected on 5 September by Peru's Council of Ministers after a new foreign minister was named.[30] Peruvian PresidentDina Boluarte reinforced on 6 September that Peru's position with respect to Venezuela had not changed under the new foreign minister, saying: "We will not be part of an electoral fraud; we will not support a dictatorial government."[31]
On 1 August, U.S. Secretary of StateAntony Blinken stated that there was "overwhelming evidence" that González won the presidential election.[32][33] On 2 August, Argentina recognized González as president-elect, while Uruguayan Foreign MinisterOmar Paganini stated that there was an "overwhelming amount of information" whereby González may be considered the winner of the elections. On the same day, Costa Rica also recognized González's victory in the Venezuelan elections over Maduro.[34][35][36] By 4 August, Ecuador and Panama recognized Edmundo González's victory.[37] Maduro did not acknowledge the results published by the opposition which claimed he lost the election,[38] and instead asked theSupreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), composed of justices loyal to Maduro,[39][40][41][42] to audit and approve the results.[43][44] On 22 August, as anticipated,[43][41][42] the TSJ described the CNE's statement of Maduro winning the election as "validated".[45]
An arrest warrant was issued on 2 September for González for the alleged crimes of "usurpation of functions, falsification of public documents, instigation to disobey the law, conspiracy and association".[8] After the election, González sought refuge secretly in the Dutch Embassy through 5 September,[2][46] after which he spent several days in the Spanish embassy in Caracas, and was granted asylum, leaving on a Spanish Armed Forces flight on 7 September 2024.[47] His wife accompanied him on the flight to Madrid, where they would join a daughter who lives there.[48] González, along withMaría Corina Machado, was awarded theSakharov Prize on 24 October.[49]
González has been described as a centrist and an apolitical "consensus maker".[16]
González was apolitical during his diplomatic service, working for bothHugo Chávez andCarlos Andrés Pérez. Although González worked against the Chávez–Maduro administrations, his attitude has been described as conciliatory. While former presidential candidateMaría Corina Machado supported prosecution of the human rights abuses of the Maduro government, González has repeatedly supported talks with Maduro.[50]
Since 1973, González has been married to the dentist Mercedes Marina López Unzueta (1949), with whom he has two daughters: Mariana del Carmen, born on July 16, 1976, and Carolina, born on January 4, 1980, inWashington, D.C.,[15] and has four grandchildren.
Edmundo González Urrutia - La Victoria, estado Aragua (1949). Graduado en la Escuela de Estudios Internacionales de la UCV. Estudios de postgrado en la American University en Washington DC, donde obtuvo el título de Master of Arts in International Affairs (1981). Funcionario de carrera del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores. Fue director general de Análisis y Planificación Estratégica, embajador de Venezuela en Argentina, director general de Política Internacional, embajador de Venezuela en Argelia.
Mr. Edmundo GONZALEZ-URRUTIA; Mrs. Gonzalez-Urrutia First Secretary
The decision surprised few Venezuelans, as the court has long been used to rubber-stamp the policies of Mr. Maduro, who is likely to use this ruling to strengthen his claim to the presidency.
The court's ruling was expected, as it is stacked with loyalists to Maduro's ruling Socialist Party.
Mr Maduro has turned to Venezuela's top court ... But instead of making the tallies public, he took the unusual step of filing a 'writ of amparo' - a legal move normally used by citizens who think their constitutional rights have been violated. He asked the top court to audit the voting tallies with a view to confirming the results provided by the CNE which handed him another six-year term in power. ... However, this move has already been dismissed by independent bodies, including the Carter Center.
Maduro has previously rejected the possibility of new elections and asked the country's highest court, also viewed as loyal to him, to certify the outcome.
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