At Miraflores Palace, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro welcomed the marchers beginning their mobilization from PDVSA headquarters in La Campiña to celebrate Commander Chávez’s 71st birthday and the victory in Sunday’s municipal elections. He said, “There is no better way to celebrate the commander’s birthday than with the people mobilized.”“Honor and glory to our Commander Hugo Chávez, a man destined to be the great redeemer of the humble people, the Bolivarian people. He was the great resurrector of the Liberator Simón Bolívar,” he stated. He added: “There is no better way to celebrate Commander Hugo Chávez’s 71st birthday than with yesterday’s great victory, Sunday, July 27. We won 285 municipalities, 85% of Venezuela.”#ENVIVO | Presidente de #Venezuela 🇻🇪, Nicolás Maduro: No hay mejor forma de celebrar los 71 años de la vida de Chávez que regalándole la gran victoria de ayer domingo. Hemos ganado 285 municipios, el 85 por ciento de los municipios del país → https://t.co/ROUUUfjBZh pic.twitter.com/ekKdJfJcDg— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) July 28, 2025“We are a true force, an empowered people,” he said, “while the opposition went from 125 to 50 mayoralties. They lost 75. There must be a reason,” he said.Jean Carlo Di Martino, the new mayor of Maracaibo, Zulia state, joined President Maduro on the “People’s Balcony” of Miraflores Palace, along with First Lady Cilia Flores, Diosdado Cabello, Jorge Rodríguez, and Delcy Rodríguez. “We won the Maracaibo mayoralty by a landslide,” he added. They were followed by La Guaira Governor Alejandro Terán and re-elected Mayor José Manuel Suárez.Maduro emphasized that Diógenes Lara, brother of William Lara, took over Petare’s mayoral office: “an area they [the opposition] have often tried to infiltrate, funding criminal gangs with dirty DEA money. However, thanks to the police, it is now a land of peace. This new mayor emerged from the grassroots,” he said.Venezuela Holds Municipal Elections July 27: Youth Projects, Security & Key Races“We are moving forward, and no one will stop us because they have not been able to—and never will—against the people’s strength,” he added.“The march saw brilliant sunshine, then rain. Sun and rain mean Bolívar and Chávez are here: two spirits guiding us and always will. There’s no better way to celebrate the commander’s birthday than with the Venezuelan people and yesterday’s great victory,” President Maduro stated. (Últimas Noticias) by Odry Farnetano with Orinoco Tribune contentTranslation: Orinoco TribuneOT/JRE/SF