"I saw Maduro with a lot of doubts about the possibility of achieving free elections" – 18/05/2019

The hope that there was last week and that supported an agreement to call free elections in Venezuela was again disrupted.

An EU-backed International Contact Group mission met with Chavez's top leaders and opposition on Thursday and Friday to probe this possibility. The result was unfavorable, especially because of the rigid position of Nicolás Maduro and the government dome

"I saw Juan Guaidó, Henrique Capriles and other opposition leaders ready to face a democratic opening, even accepting the renewal of Parliament." But I saw Maduro with many doubts about his ability to achieve free elections, "he said. Clarin the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, Ricardo Merlo, one of the members of this delegation.

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The contact group is composed of Spain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Ecuador and Bolivia.

While criticizing Maduro's policies, he seeks to facilitate a negotiated agreement to allow elections as quickly as possible.

In fact, because of its position as mediator, it has access to all relevant sectors of Venezuela. They are considered much more moderate than the Lima group and insist on "a peaceful and democratic solution in the hands of Venezuelans".

Despite this complacent attitude, this week's mission did not meet expectations and the group felt discouraged. They issued a very diplomatic joint statement, through which they tried to make a good impression on both sides.

"All interlocutors welcomed the efforts of the contact group and encouraged them to continue their engagement," the statement said, without explaining anything.

As you may have known Clarin, the reality was more uncomfortable than expected. They were with Maduro for an hour and a half, but the president used the first hour to make a speech with the usual verbiage. They could only talk for 30 minutes.

He began by calling the opposition leader Leopoldo López "fascist", who was released by the intelligence chief (SEBIN), who rebelled against the government leaders.

Then, Chavez's leader described Gauidó as "a neo-fascist". But what surprised the diplomatic mission the most was that it defined itself as a "moderate center".

Maduro's monologue continues with a utopian description of Venezuela, praising the quality of the country and the achievements of "the revolution", to finally warn that the United States was preparing an invasion and that Chavismo would resist.

In front of European emissaries, he said that the government had two million armed militants to defend themselves.

What did Maduro tell you, how did he perceive his position regarding the possibility of finding a negotiated solution?

I think Maduro does not perceive reality as it is. In Venezuela, there is no rule of law, no separation of powers. There is a de facto civil-military government that does not recognize the only authority elected by the popular vote, the National Assembly (Parliament), and has created a parallel body to empty this institution, the National Constituent Assembly , power. integrated by people loyal to the government. The freedom of the press is nil. Television and newspapers are run by the government. Everyone is in favor of the government.

What did they ask Maduro?

We are asking for elections as soon as possible, but democratic, transparent elections, controlled by international organizations. At one point, I asked him if they had self-criticized and they were speechless. It took a while to respond and they did not say anything concrete.

How did you see the situation in Caracas?

The political and social situation is dramatic, that of human rights is terrible. We have two Venezuelan deputies, democratically elected, refugees at the Embbady of Italy. They are Américo de Grazia and Mariela Magallanes. I ask international human rights organizations to come to Venezuela and see what is happening to denounce this situation.

Have you talked to people? What did they say?

Listen, I describe the situation with the help of an example: I went to eat in a restaurant where the plate that I ordered gave 60 000 bolivars and the waiter who took care of I received a salary of 18,000 bolivars. How can they live like this?

Did you also meet representatives of the Venezuelan Church?

Yes, we were with Bishop Raul Biord, second vice-president of the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela. They explained that the situation was far more dramatic than we see, with starving children and sick people who do not survive because of lack of medicines and basic supplies. They also demand elections as soon as possible.

How did the meeting with Juan Guaidó happen?

With Guaidó, I took a private breakfast at the Embbady of Italy. He is willing to participate in a new call for elections, including elections to renew the Parliament he presides.

How is the contact group working?

We will continue to demand free elections in Venezuela as soon as possible. We want to see if this meeting we had with Maduro was simply a staging or would finally agree to negotiate a way out.