A/HRC/45/CRP.11 I. Timeline of Key Events from 2014 to Present 60. Since 2014, a series of events have taken place in Venezuela challenging the Government and denouncing the political, economic and social situation. Official Government information about numbers of demonstration is not available, 74 but the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict (OVCS) has documented of the number of demonstrations each year. According to the OVCS, 9,286 protests took place in 2014;75 5,851 protests in 2015;76 6,917 protests in 2016;77 9,787 protests in 2017;78 12,715 protests in 2018;79 16,739 protests in 2019;80 and 3,768 protests in 2020 (January to May).81 A. January-May 2014: Growing Dissent 61. In January 2014, in a context of economic decline, inflation and widespread insecurity in the country, a group of opposition leaders initiated a campaign to remove President Nicolás Maduro from office. The effort was referred to as “The Exit” (“La Salida”). 62. The opposition’s efforts came less than a year after the election of Nicolás Maduro on 19 April 2013, following the 5 March 2013 death of President Hugo Chávez. Mr. Maduro won by a narrow margin against Henrique Capriles, of the Primero Justicia party, part of the opposition coalition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD).82 The opposition also lost the majority of positions in the 8 December 2013 municipal elections.83 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 14 The Mission located only once instance of an official reference to the number of protests. In 2017, the Government reported before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that between 1 April and 31 July 2017, 9,435 protests were registered, 5,878 (62 per cent) of which the Government said were violent. YouTube Video: Statement by the Government of Venezuela at the Hearing: Violence, Citizen Security, and Freedom of Expression in Venezuela, 165th IACHR Session, minute 62:48, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV0NW2PdBJs&feature=youtu.be. OVCS, Informe Conflictividad Social en Venezuela 2014, available at: http://www.observatoriodeconflictos.org.ve/oc/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Conflictividad-enVenezuela-2014.pdf. OVCS, Informe Conflictividad Social en Venezuela 2015, available at: http://www.observatoriodeconflictos.org.ve/oc/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Conflictividad-social-enVenezuela-2015.pdf OVCS, Informe Conflictividad Social en Venezuela 2016, available at: http://www.observatoriodeconflictos.org.ve/sin-categoria/conflictividad-social-en-venezuela-2016 OVCS, Informe Conflictividad Social en Venezuela 2017, available at: https://www.observatoriodeconflictos.org.ve/tendencias-de-la-conflictividad/conflictividad-social-envenezuela-en-2017 OVCS, Informe Conflictividad Social en Venezuela 2018, available at: http://www.observatoriodeconflictos.org.ve/oc/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Conflictividad-social-enVenezuela-2018.pdf OVCS, Informe Conflictividad Social en Venezuela 2019, available at: http://www.observatoriodeconflictos.org.ve/oc/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/INFORMEANUALOVCS2019-1.pdf In May, 1,075 (http://www.observatoriodeconflictos.org.ve/oc/wpcontent/uploads/2020/06/INFORMEOVCS-MAY2020.pdf); in April, 716 (https://www.observatoriodeconflictos.org.ve/tendencias-de-la-conflictividad/conflictividad-socialen-venezuela-durante-abril-2020); in March, 580 (https://www.observatoriodeconflictos.org.ve/tendencias-de-la-conflictividad/conflictividad-socialen-venezuela-durante-marzo-2020); in February, 779 (https://www.observatoriodeconflictos.org.ve/tendencias-de-la-conflictividad/observatorio-deconflictividad-registro-799-protestas-en-febrero); in January, 618 (https://www.observatoriodeconflictos.org.ve/tendencias-de-la-conflictividad/conflictividad-socialen-venezuela-en-enero-de-2020). Nicolás Maduro obtained 50.6 per cent of the vote and Henrique Capriles obtained 49.12 per cent. See National Electoral Council, results of 2013 presidential elections, available at: http://www.cne.gob.ve/resultado_presidencial_2013/r/1/reg_000000.html?. See National Electoral Council, results of 2013 municipal elections, available at: http://www.cne.gob.ve/resultado_municipal_2013/r/1/reg_000000.html?.