A bucket of water, the only rain of Juan Guaidó: "It is a symbol of poverty"

Juan Guaidó He woke up and threw a bucket of water on himself. It was his shower. Like millions of Venezuelans, the man that many countries recognize as the legitimate leader of his battered country can not count on pipes. "It's one of the things I hate the most," said the 35-year-old politician, in an interview. "It's a symbol of poverty and I've had to do it almost all my life."

And yet, the politician has shown to a large extent this characteristic optimism, displaying an attitude of "yes, you can" that his followers adore and his detractors find naive. Guaidó talked about how Venezuela should tolerate much more suffering overthrow the autocratic regime of Nicolás Maduro. Despite this, he added, the United States should not ease the sanctions that aggravate the economic crisis.

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"Things will get worse" before they change, he warned. In the end, he insisted that the opposition movement, which came back to life after Guaidó became president of the National Assembly in January, will triumph. There will be new elections in six or nine months, he said, because the pressure on Maduro employees to leave just does not want to give in.

Missed survey

Given the current situation, these statements were overly optimistic, even by Guaidó standards. After a military uprising orchestrated by Guaidó failed at the end of April, Momentum both at home and abroad seems to have deflated. Many of Guaidó's closest allies are detained, refugees in foreign embbadies or in exile.

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Even Guaidó himself, a man the United States tries to protect, escapes by changing locations every few weeks to stay ahead of Maduro's security forces. On Thursday, Guaidó gave the interview from an empty office, with a dark entrance, very well protected by corpulent bodyguards in a building east of Caracas. Between calls and meetings, he sat at a table and watched a video of his 2-year-old daughter.

During an impromptu lunch in polystyrene containers, he defended the opposition's strategy and downplayed criticisms that the attempt to overthrow Maduro is losing steam or even losing momentum.. "We have to move on," said Guaidó. "Persecution does not change the way we do politics, but makes it more complex and more difficult in terms of support on the streets."

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& # 39; Guaidó effect & # 39;

At the beginning of the year, the effect "Guaidó" caused an escalation in real estate prices and the rebound of the stock market in the expectation of a Maduro fall. But optimism did not last and Guaidó's popularity rating in polls was reduced by 5 percentage points from February, to 56.5%. Mr. Guaidó pointed out that he was not on the political scene a few months ago and that Maduro's approval is at an all-time low.

Guaidó has received unprecedented support from the Trump government, which has imposed sanctions on individuals, the oil industry, the gold trade and the central bank. However, the politician pointed out that the fault of misery in Venezuela – 24 hours to buy gasoline, rotten food due to power outages, widespread hunger – falls directly on Maduro. The lifting of sanctions to help end the suffering would only "normalize" the crisis.

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Among the world powers that do not support the politician are China and Russia, the main creditors of Venezuela. Guaidó said recent statements from both countries showed a relaxation of their position and indicated a willingness to find a solution.

Maduro did not seem bothered by reports that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would attribute the little progress made in the overthrow of Maduro to the internal divisions of the opposition and the US. expected that in the event of a fall of 40 people, the latter would be in competition. presidency "We are united by the desire and the need to leave Maduro," said Guaidó. "If 40 people want to run for president, they are welcome, that is democracy."