Maduro offers to meet the contact group | L …

The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, said yesterday that he was willing to meet the emissaries of the international contact group set up by some Latin American countries and the European Union (EU), which seeks to create the necessary conditions for new "free" and "free" elections in the country. the country.

"I am ready and willing to receive any emissary of the contact group," Maduro said at a press conference at the Miraflores Presidential Palace about this group of European and Latin American countries.

The High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, opened Thursday the first meeting of the group in Montevideo. There, he warned that the situation in Venezuela was jeopardizing the stability not only of Latin America, but of the whole world, and urged to seek a solution to the crisis. "The task ahead is urgent and comes from the worsening of the situation which risks destabilizing the region and not just the region," he said.

For his part, Maduro rejected "the biased, ideologization" that he considers to be the contact group despite all that he was willing to receive emissaries from the group and to have with them " visual, physical or mental contact ". "I welcome the EU contact group, although I tell you from now on that I totally disagree with the bias and the ideologization in which they fell as a result of the extremism with which they see Venezuela, "said the president.

Maduro also referred to the so-called Montevideo Mechanism, designed by Uruguay, Mexico and the Caribbean Community (Caricom), as an initiative to bring peace to Venezuela, with four stages of immediate dialogue, negotiation, commitments and implementation. Faced with this, he said "ready to talk where, when and with whom", whether through his "direct person" or his "special envoys".

It was precisely yesterday that the Organization of Venezuelan Politicians Persecuted in Exile (Veppex) of Miami (Florida, USA) rejected the mechanism that it calls "lack of respect for the Venezuelan people." ". For Veppex, "to propose a dialogue and a mediation with the usurpers of power in Venezuela, it is simply to place oneself on the side of those who violate the Constitution". The Montevideo mechanism has different compositions and objectives from those of the international contact group, composed of a dozen European and Latin American countries. The political crisis in Venezuela worsened on January 23 when the Speaker of Parliament, Juan Guaidó, proclaimed himself president of Venezuela after finding that Maduro was usurping the presidency for his election as a result of a fraudulent vote.

However, yesterday, the government received support from the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela (TSJ), which declared null and void a law approved by Parliament for a possible transition to Venezuela. According to the head of the body, Juan Mendoza, the law was canceled for violation of the Constitution. "There is no mention in the Constitution of any law that aims to direct a supposed transition to a new government regime by opposing the fundamental text that is openly empty," he said. Mendoza in statements transmitted by the public television VTV.

The National Assembly (AN, Parliament), with the overwhelming majority of the opposition, approved Tuesday a law that will govern a possible transition in the country and will enter into force as soon as the leader Nicolás Maduro, that he does not recognize, leave power. The text establishes, inter alia, the duration of a transitional government and its political and economic powers. Yesterday, the TSJ, trend hyperchavista, canceled this rule.

According to the sentence read by Mendoza, the transitional law "highlights the grotesque violation of the principle of separation of powers" because the "AN" intends to ignore Maduro as head of the state and the government and continue to urge criminis to fully pursue the constitutional attributions that correspond to the executive ". Mendoza also referred to the fourteen diplomatic representatives appointed by Parliament, claiming that they had no legal effect, for which he urged the prosecution to carry out "the corresponding criminal investigations" against him. These persons.

The parliament ignores the legitimacy of the new mandate that Maduro swore in mid-January and said the chavist leader was usurping the presidency. For this reason, antichavism considers that the powers of the executive are the responsibility of the head of Parliament, Juan Guaidó, until the election is called.

Nicolás Maduro, insisted yesterday that the choice of a new National Assembly (NA, Parliament), currently in the hands of his detractors, would restore the stability of the country that is going through a serious political and economic crisis.

"This year, I aspire to the possibility of holding early elections for the Parliament.It is the elections that will help the stability of the country to overcome the disturbances we are experiencing," said the president in a communicated. press conference of the presidential palace. The proposal to elect a new National Assembly this year, instead of 2020 in accordance with the constitutional mandate, is being badyzed by the Constituent National Assembly, a plenipotentiary is formed only by the loyalists of the Bolivarian Revolution.

Asked about the possibility of holding new presidential elections to resolve the legitimacy crisis that runs through his mandate – not recognized by Parliament and by dozens of foreign governments – he said that this issue was not a priority in the country. Instead, he said, there is an urgent need to address the serious economic crisis Venezuela has entered, including widespread shortages, the deterioration of all public services, hyperinflation and devaluation. currency.