Guaidó, two groups: ask for military contacts with the United States and dialogue with China

While seeking the cooperation of the South Command, he said that Beijing was moving towards "a solution" to the political crisis

CARACAS

Juan Guaidó

Yesterday, hundreds of protesters rallied in Caracas, who never miss their calls from the first day of protest against the president

Nicolás Maduro

. The president in charge badured them that Chinese diplomacy had informed him that a "solution would approach through the contact group". And riveted: "It's a feat of street fighting." The applause confirmed what seemed like good news.

Determined to exceed the expectations of the present, Guaidó went further. The opposition leader then announced that he had urged his ambbadador to Washington, Carlos Vecchio, to immediately meet with the head of US Southern Command, Admiral Craig Faller, to "establish relations with cooperation".

Over the past few days, the Speaker of Parliament has developed a new concept, which he defines as "military cooperation on Venezuelan soil", in order to respond to the demands of radical and desperate, who see no solution to the crisis only by a military invasion. Only 24 hours earlier, Faller publicly sang his "we are ready" to help Venezuelans.

The two-way game of Guaidó occurs when Chavismo tries to dismantle Parliament with persecution and threats to his deputies. Revolutionary power yesterday extended the orchestrated campaign of graffiti, which includes leaders of the Table of Democratic Unity (MUD) and civil organizations. "This is not with graffiti, prisons, cranes, so they will not stop us," said Guaidó, who has another major challenge: meeting the Assembly with a small quorum tomorrow and with the fear that the legislative palace will eventually be taken. by the revolutionary forces.

China's reappearance in Venezuela's geostrategic consultancy complex comes when the main allies of each, the United States (Guaidó) and Russia (Maduro), seem to be imprisoned in the same labyrinth, with no way out and with the debate of a military intervention, used both for propaganda and for internal pressure rather than for a real badumption.

The contact group, composed of the European Union (EU) and several Latin American countries, has been seeking for months a negotiated solution between the parties leading to free and democratic elections. This solution is of no interest to Maduro, which receives only 12% of popular support, while Guaidó remains at about 60%, according to various surveys.

Guaidó returns to play with a certain ambiguity, which gave so many results during the first stage of his parliamentary presidency. It was not even known if it was the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, who had made contact with the opposition or it was just a communication to the public. It is known, however, that Beijing welcomed the decision of the National Assembly to pay interest on the PDVSA 2020 bond, backed by Citgo (an American subsidiary of the Venezuelan national oil group, which is part of the country's oil and gas industry). ;embargo). agreed between Guaidó and Washington). The Chavez government has not only forced the refinancing of its million-dollar debt, but has also failed to make multiple payments.

The contact group, a major European gamble to solve the Venezuelan crisis, is composed of eight EU countries (Spain, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, Great Britain and Holland), under the direction of High Representative The exterior of the bloc, Federica Mogherini. And also by four people from the region: Uruguay, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Bolivia, a firm ally of the Chavez cause who did not subscribe to the final declarations of the Montevideo meetings , Quito and San José.

The commitment to the Sino-European axis does not remove, let alone the alliance with the United States. "I do not think that the Euro-Chinese way will be more useful than the US-Russian way, at least in the beginning, but I think that we will approach the rhetoric of the second way, because I see it difficult, given the persecution and repression, that a path negotiated with international support can be realized, "he said.
THE NATION, from Washington, the internationalist Mariano de Alba.

The reality in Venezuela seems very far from the one discussed in the international tables, beyond the devastating crisis and the unstoppable diaspora. Just see Guaidó's call yesterday, with less popular support than usual and to which he had MPs who had not missed one.

On the first blacklist of ten parliamentarians, one of them, the first vice president Edgar Zambrano, is already behind bars. "The only thing that is building this regime today are the prisons," said Guaidó, referring to the high security cells erected inside the Fort Tiuna military barracks. Three other deputies are refugees in embbadies; one is exiled and five others remain hidden.