The majority of Venezuelans want change and will vote for ousting President Nicolas Maduro, opposition leader Henrique Capriles told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an interview Wednesday.
His comments come after Venezuela’s National Electoral Board accepted more than 1.3 million signatures calling for Maduro’s removal following weeks of anti-government protests.
The move marks the first step of a lengthy process that can potentially see Maduro’s ouster four years into his six-year term.
“I think that we are not only going to win the recall vote, but we are going to change Venezuela because change happens not only by way of Maduro,” Capriles said, adding that “it’s a change in the system that we have to be able to achieve so that Venezuela can come out of the worst crisis that it has lived in history.”
Venezuela has been sinking deeper into political and economic chaos, facing severe shortages of basic goods and having regular power blackouts. It is home to the world’s highest inflation rate despite having the largest oil reserves.
The two-time presidential candidate told Amanpour the time for dialogue with the government has passed, which is why the opposition is “insisting on the elections, so that people can decide by way of their vote.”
“It’s very important that you understand that the recall vote is a constitutional right, which has to be done this year,” said Capriles, who has been leading the push for the referendum and joining street demonstrations.
“Here in Venezuela there are small social explosions that are taking place,” he told Amanpour, saying those explosions are “a product of the hunger that is being lived here in this country.”
