Venezuelan singer Carlos Baute apologized on Monday for joining chants of «¡Fuera la mona!» against Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodríguez at a Madrid event supporting María Corina Machado. Baute insists he is not racist and got carried away by the moment's emotion. Venezuela's Embassy in Spain condemned the chants as racist and misogynistic.
On Saturday April 18, thousands gathered in Madrid's Puerta del Sol for an event supporting Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado. Singer Carlos Baute joined massive chants of «¡Fuera la mona!», referring to Delcy Rodríguez, repeating it at least twice.
Baute posted an Instagram video on Monday explaining: «This Saturday I got carried away by the emotion of a very strong moment... and I also know how to recognize when something was not right. I do not believe in insult as a path». He adds he comes from a Venezuelan family, grew up with the country's folklore, and rejects being labeled racist: «If anyone felt offended, I regret it and apologize».
María Corina Machado rejected the racist chants in an EFE interview, stating she would never use expressions that disqualify by race or gender. On Sunday, Venezuela's Embassy in Spain, via Ambassador Gladys Gutiérrez, issued a statement condemning the shouts as «a form of political violence based on misogyny and racism» and apologizing to the Spanish people.
