The Popular Party (PP) believes that Venezuela is a gold mine against the Pedro Sánchez government and is unwilling to give it even a gram of oxygen, regardless of its role in the political crisis in Venezuela. Despite Spain becoming a key player in supporting the opposition to Nicolás Maduro by granting political asylum to opposition candidate Edmundo González, who arrived in Madrid on Sunday, the PP has continued to criticize the government, calling its actions in the crisis “surprising and lamentable”. The PP has even gone so far as to contradict the Venezuelan opposition, with whom they have a strong alignment, by describing the acceptance of the opposition candidate in Spain as a favor to Maduro, a sentiment that González and his supporters have thanked the Spanish government for.
The President of the Community of Madrid had previously urged the government to grant asylum to González at the Spanish Embassy in Caracas due to the risks he faced from Maduro’s harassment. Despite the government eventually granting asylum to González and bringing him to Spain, the Madrid leader has continued to criticize the government, this time for being silent for too long. The Spanish government, which did not recognize Maduro’s victory in the Venezuelan elections, insisted on the transparency of the election records from the beginning.
The PP has criticized the government for complicity with Maduro despite providing asylum and support to the opposition leader. The PP has accused the government of connivance with the Venezuelan regime after giving asylum and support to the opposition candidate against Maduro, whom Sánchez also referred to as a “hero” over the weekend. The PP’s parliamentary spokesman, Miguel Tellado, questioned the government’s actions, accusing them of supporting Maduro’s regime while now positioning themselves as defenders of dignity and democracy. There is a debate within the PP about whether granting protection in Spain to the opposition leader is a victory for Maduro or a defeat.
The transfer of González to Spain has been seen by some as a defeat for the Venezuelan president. Venezuelan opposition politician Antonio Ledezma has stated that Maduro cannot feel victorious, as he did not expect the Spanish government to validate his actions in the elections. The PP has also shown support for María Corina Machado, another key opposition figure in Venezuela. Feijóo stated that he would have granted asylum to González as well, but with the recognition of him as the elected president of Venezuela. The PP’s strategy now involves pressuring the Sánchez government to recognize González as the legitimate president of Venezuela, a move that the European Union has also refrained from making. A proposition in the Spanish congress from the PP calling for the recognition of González as the winner of the elections is set to be voted on.
