Venezuelans rally in several cities demanding elections and Machado's return

Thousands rally in several cities

On Thursday, 22 October 2026, supporters of María Corina Machado took to the streets in several Venezuelan cities. About 2,000 demonstrators gathered on Plaza Venezuela in Caracas, holding up placards that demanded elections, while a separate rally took place in Táchira state on the Colombian border. Further protests were reported in Valencia, Maracay, San Cristóbal and Maracaibo. The mobilisation was called by the party Vente Venezuela and backed by the Unitary Democratic Platform (PUD), the main opposition coalition. Demonstrators asked for an electoral calendar setting the presidential election for 2027, a safe return for Machado and the release of all political prisoners. Chavista supporters held a counter-demonstration in Caracas, officially to mark 'Pink Month', a campaign on breast cancer prevention.

Why the date matters

The protest date marked the third anniversary of the opposition primaries held on 22 October 2023, in which Machado established herself as the main opposition leader and won broad support. The government of Nicolás Maduro later used administrative bans to prevent her from standing in the 2024 election. Maduro was declared the winner of a presidential vote in summer 2024, an election overshadowed by allegations of fraud, and a wave of repression followed in which 28 people were killed. Many opposition figures went into exile. Machado left Venezuela secretly to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo a year earlier, and her party says she has been blocked several times from returning home.

A transition without a date

US forces seized Maduro in Caracas in a military raid in early January 2026 and took him to the United States, where he and his wife Cilia Flores are due to stand trial next year on charges of drug terrorism and allegations of torture. Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro's former vice president, has led the interim government since then and works closely with Washington. Trump said after Maduro's fall that Venezuela is now under US control, and last month he said elections were still too early. Rodríguez and Trump have both promised elections, but neither has named a date. Talks between government and opposition representatives began a little over a week before the rallies, without Machado, and both sides reaffirmed their wish to hold presidential elections. The US State Department welcomed the talks, saying they laid the groundwork for free and credible elections.

Prisoners and exile

The human rights organisation Foro Penal counts more than 300 people still held for political reasons, and some reports put the figure above 320. Protesters demanded the release of all of them. Machado remains in exile in Panama, and she has said elections must take place by July 2027. One protester told Lusa that more than seven million Venezuelans have left the country, citing the political, economic and social crisis and repression. Party leaders say Machado has been prevented from returning on several occasions.

Voices on the streets

An 18-year-old cosmetology student in Maracay told Al Jazeera she was happy to see the protests because she believed change was possible after hardship linked to the dollar and difficulties with her studies. She said she hoped the country's next leader would be Machado. In Caracas, a protester told Lusa that Trump owes Venezuelans more than a focus on oil and should press for elections. Another participant said she was less afraid to protest now than before because she wanted her voice to be heard.