Six powers of the European Union prepare to recognize Guaidó

The ultimatum has now expired for Maduro to call for early elections

PARIS.- Six countries of

European Union

(EU) are ready to imminently recognize Venezuela's self-appointed President,

Juan Guaidó

, the ultimatum that they launched

Nicolás Maduro

call for free elections within eight days.

"Monday, after the expiry of the eight-day deadline, Spain and the rest of the countries will recognize" as the maximum responsible for leading the country to new elections, said Thursday the Spanish Chancellor, Josep Borrell .

Germany, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Britain are ready to do the same, according to European diplomatic sources.

Indifferent to this request, Maduro had replied the day before yesterday to the idea of ​​organizing early parliamentary elections, to replace a Parliament where the opposition constituted the majority and whose president was precisely Guaidó.

In downtown Caracas, appearing in public for the first time in six months, Maduro harangued his thousands of supporters to address what he called the "macabre plan" of the United States, announced an increase number of soldiers and launched the idea of ​​incorporating militia into the army.

In the official media, Maduro has not hesitated to denounce "the interventionist stance adopted by both the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the European Union".

Maduro has ceased to be recognized as
legitimate president of Venezuela by the international community. Guaidó is supported by the United States, most Latin American countries and some European countries.

Last Thursday, the European Parliament recognized Mr Guaidó and invited the 28 members of the EU to imitate him. "But the prerogative of recognition is that of the countries and the joint declaration of Saturday in which it was indicated that we could take more actions, including the recognition of the leadership of the country, gives the members a coherence to exercise their national prerogatives ", said the head of European diplomacy, Federica Mogherini, the same Thursday in Bucharest, at a meeting of foreign ministers of the Union.

In the absence of consensus, but with the will to continue to work for dialogue, the bloc approved the establishment of an EU-led international contact group to lead Venezuela to free and supervised elections in the country. international plan "that would lead to a" peaceful and democratic exit from the crisis, "explained Mogherini last week in Bucharest.

The group, which will meet at ministerial level this week, will rethink its extension or dissolution based on events after 90 days. It is composed of the EU and some of its Member States – France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom – as well as other countries of America Latin, such as Ecuador, Costa Rica, Uruguay and Bolivia.

Moreover, the countries that have located Maduro intend to recognize their rival no later than today to the first rank of responsibilities to lead the country to new elections.

But what are the chances of success of the pressure strategy decided by the six countries of the EU? Olivier Compagnon, historian and director of the Institute of Advanced Studies for Latin America, has his doubts.

"I do not think the ultimatum can weigh on the current balance of power, the six EU countries did not want to immediately align with the position of Donald Trump and many countries of the world. 39, Latin America, which immediately recognized Guaidó, that this strategy of tension, in an already polarized climate, can add oil to the fire and increase the risk of violent clashes, but they do not have to. Nor have they tried to promote a negotiated solution, as Mexico does, for example, "he explains.

"In this way, the EU has again lost the opportunity to badert itself as a credible actor in international relations," he concluded.

Italy, a corner in the block

"The Italian veto prevents Europe from taking a decision in favor of democracy," said European Parliament (EP) President Antonio Tajani in Venezuela. "The EP was pronounced by the Italians who live there, who ask for it, which the Italian government has not declared in the name of a fierce dictator", he said about Nicolás Maduro. Italy abstained in the EP vote on the proposal to recognize Juan Guaidó as interim president.