Nicolas Maduro
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Sunday, October 1, criticized the Prime Minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy for trying to prevent a referendum on independence in Catalonia and urged the people of the region to resist, Reuters reports.
According to Maduro, Rajoy is a hypocrite, supporting the Venezuelan opposition, at the same time pursuing dissent in the country.
“Mariano Rajoy chose blood, sticks, strikes and repression against the noble people. Our hand reaching out to the people of Catalonia. Resist, Catalonia! Latin America admires you,” — said Maduro.
“And who’s the dictator?” asked the Venezuelan President, rejecting the criticism made including from Madrid.
Venezuelan opposition, in turn, accused the President of hypocrisy.
The vote on the referendum on the independence of Catalonia was held on Sunday, October 1. The Central government of Spain tried to prevent the holding of a plebiscite. In particular, it was reported that the Spanish police used against those who voted in Barcelona rubber bullets. According to the latest data of the authorities of Catalonia, the number of victims has reached 844.
According to the authorities of Catalonia, voted for independence about 90 percent with a turnout of 42 percent.
The head of government of the region Carles Putteman said that the Catalans have made their right to sovereignty. He promised that in the next few days the results of the referendum will be transferred to the local Parliament for a “decision-making in accordance with the law on the referendum”.
In Venezuela from April, the continuing unrest, victims of clashes have killed more than 100 people. This comes amid the standoff between Maduro and the opposition, which after the election belongs to the majority in Parliament. The cause of the conflict was the deepest economic crisis in the country caused by the fall in world oil prices.