Councilmember Natali Fani-González expressed frustration and outrage over Sunday’s elections in Venezuela, her homeland until she was 16 years old.
“We have failed Venezuelan families once again,” she declared in a video on social media.
She is hoping for “a peaceful transition that will create opportunities for families,” she said in her video. Her wish is for the country and its people come together “and do what’s best for the nation.”
Incumbent Nicolás Maduro declared victory, but opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzáles disputed that, according to Monday morning news reports.
“I feel just really frustrated mostly because I have family over there,” she told MCM. “I am upset, because people are really devastated. It feels like there is no way forward.”
Her brothers and other relatives still live in Venezuela, “so it’s personal,” she said, describing herself as a Venezuelan American.
As part of her normal routine, Fani-González went for a walk Monday morning. That is when she learned that both sides were declaring victory, she said.
Fani-González came with her mother to Langley Park in Prince George’s County when she was 16 years old. Neither she nor her mother spoke any English.
She entered 10th grade as an English as a Second Language student where she studied through 11th grade. By 12th grade, she no longer was considered an ESOL. Meanwhile, she “was good with numbers,” and took AP calculus and physics.
She also spent much time at nearby Montgomery County’s Long Branch Library, said the Goucher College in Baltimore alumnus.
We have failed Venezuelan families once again. As a Venezuelan-American, it breaks my heart to see what’s happening. #Venezuela pic.twitter.com/WroYfe338J
— Natali Fani-González (@NataliFGonzalez) July 29, 2024
