July 2024 marked another presidential election in Venezuela, and as expected, it was marked by controversy and mistrust. The polls showed current president Nicolás Maduro trailing his main opponent, Edmundo González Urrutia, who for many was the hope of a fresh start and the end of Maduro in power. To support Edmundo and make clear their dissatisfaction with years of Maduro's regime, which has plunged Venezuela into an unprecedented crisis, thousands of Venezuelans around the world took to the streets calling for change in these elections, shouting “Vela Libre”.

In Manaus, one of the Brazilian cities with the largest number of Venezuelan immigrants and their descendants, the demonstration took place in São Sebastião Square in front of the historic Teatro Amazonas in the center of the capital, all united by one goal: to see their home country prosper again.