Chavismo and the Venezuelan opposition resume dialogue in Mexico | As on previous occasions, the meeting will be publicized by Norway

Venezuela’s government and opposition to sit down to negotiate again this Friday in Mexico City with the intention of unlocking years of confrontation. The opposition camp, still atomized, seeks to guarantee “conditions” to participate in “free, fair and transparent” elections, release political prisoners and allow humanitarian aid to enter the country. The sector led by double presidential candidate Henrique Capriles has confirmed its participation in the process in which the opposition led by Juan Guaidó will also be present., who appears to be losing his image due to his refusal to participate in the regional elections on November 21. For its part, the government of Nicolás Maduro, which has just held a dialogue with better prospects, will demand that, in addition to the lifting of sanctions, the “recognition of the legitimate authorities of Venezuela”, the “renunciation of violence” and “that all oppositions are incorporated ”.

Friday’s meeting precedes the working week that will begin August 30 and is seen as the official start of negotiations mediated, once again, by Norway. Mexico’s offer comes amid the growing role that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has developed in favor of Latin American unity. In 2019, the AMLO government was one of the few in the region not to recognize Guaidó’s “self-proclaimed presidency” and led, with Uruguay, a proposal for Maduro and the opposition to come together. “The government of Mexico has always promoted the dialogue between the Venezuelans themselves as the only solution to the situation in Venezuela, without interference and by privileging the humanitarian vision”, he argued on Wednesday Maximiliano Reyes, Under-Secretary for Foreign Relations for Latin America.

Agenda

The list of demands with which each sector will sit in Mexican territory is very different. “We have made a set of demands, demands and we maintain them firmly: first of all, the immediate lifting of all criminal sanctions”the president said a few days ago Nicolas maduro evoking the battery of measures against the government and its main characters, including an American oil embargo. In June, The United States, Canada and the European Union were prepared to “review” the sanctions against Maduro if they saw “significant progress” towards “credible, inclusive and transparent” elections..

The Venezuelan government also demands recognition of institutions such as the presidency, the National Assembly elected in 2020 and the Supreme Court of Justice. finally demands Venezuela’s “asset restitution” that some governments and global financial entities have frozen abroad Yes that “all oppositions” participate in the dialogue.

For its part the Venezuelan opposition requires two main points. The first requirement is the debate on a calendar of “free and fair” elections. which include presidential and national parliamentarians. The second is the massive entry into the country of humanitarian aid and vaccines against the coronavirus.. There is a third, broader point which considers the need for “democratic guarantees”, a demand that includes the release of the 268 political prisoners they denounce.

The delegates

The Maduro government will be represented in Mexico by Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly elected in 2020 and former mayor of Caracas. Héctor Rodríguez, Governor of the Central State of Miranda, former Sports and Youth Minister under Maduro, 39, will also represent the interests of the ruling party.

The opposition delegation will be led by constitutional expert, former mayor and former deputy Gerardo Blyde. He will be accompanied in his efforts by leaders of political parties such as Luis Emilio Rondón Sr., of Un Nuevo Tiempo, Mariela Magallanes, of La Causa R, and Tomás Guanipa, Ambassador of the The self-proclaimed government of Guaidó in Colombia that he resigned his “post” to participate in the dialogue. Stalin Gonzalez, former MP and spokesperson for the opposition to Barbados’ failed negotiation processes in 2019, will also attend.

Divided opposition

Self-proclaimed president in 2019 following the re-election of Maduro the previous year, Guaidó lost control of the Legislative Assembly after the legislative elections of December 6 in which the Chavismo devastated. The ultra-opposition leader clings to his legitimacy by sitting down to negotiate through his delegates, while the government is clearly ahead. AND even from the fragmented opposition arch, her figure seems eclipsed by that of Capriles.

“While this negotiation process is going on, there is an election and the opposition will be stronger in the negotiation if the election goes well.”said Capriles, who is committed to a “low-key” dialogue away from television cameras. The leader has shown his support for the opposition to participate in the elections in which the next mayors, governors and local and regional deputies will be elected, despite the fact that the sector led by Guaidó has shown reluctance. “I am going to vote on November 21, it is a decision that I have more than clear, but a single stick does not make a mountain, I am only one vote”, said Capriles, who has historically been linked to the more radical sectors of the Venezuelan opposition.