Crisis in Venezuela: Juan Guaidó: "There is no risk of civil war in Venezuela, 90% of the population wants change" | Internationale

Reply First of all, I want to thank the European Union: 28 countries have proposed a consensus. It is important to recognize the Parliament first, after our Constitution and the Venezuelan democratic struggle, then the non-recognition of Maduro and the electoral joke they tried to lead. I believe that it is a firm position and that in the coming days, the ultimatum will expire, which forms the basis of other important actions for us as Venezuelans.

P. Some sectors have already expressed their fear of a confrontation in Venezuela, a bloodshed.

R. There are several elements. The first is that there is no risk of civil war in Venezuela, as some wanted to see or see. Why Because 90% of the population wants change. There is a small dome or military support to the regime that made up a security of armed paramilitaries, called here collective which composed elements that would have no resonance. Is there a risk of violence? There is. Dozens of young people were murdered in one week. More than 140 in 2017. Caracas is the most violent city in the world, considering the rate of homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Most countries want change, a parliament fulfills its functions, a legitimately responsible president, with constitutional powers, in search of a political solution to the conflict. The only ones who talk about the violence and exercise it, through the FAES [as forças especiais da polícia] through the paramilitary, are Maduro and his regime. Those who nourish such a thesis nourish precisely the violence.

P. You reject the last presidential election. Say why you think you should be considered interim president.

R. Legitimacy comes from the popular vote. In the absence of presidential election in 2018, Maduro's term ended on January 10, 2019. We are therefore facing a presidential vacuum, which must be filled by the President of the National Assembly in accordance with Article 233 of our Constitution. . Maduro insists on usurping functions, diverting power and leaving in very precarious conditions, especially Venezuelans who need to eat, they need food, medicine. So, constitutionally today, the president in charge of Venezuela is me, and my mandate is very clear, says article 233: to create free elections as soon as possible. That is why we determine three phases: the end of the usurpation, because we are in a dictatorship; a transitional government that stabilizes and responds to the humanitarian emergency, which takes the necessary steps for the reinstitutionalization of the country, as well as the National Electoral Council, to organize free elections.

P. And this process can not become a chronic, multi-month conflict that becomes a space where no one wins? How can we activate this transition, according to his point of view?

R. It is necessary to bring together the capacity to end usurpation, to mobilize the citizens, to see how the international community recognizes us. Some claim that it is a subject of the United States, but there are already more than 60 countries, almost 65, and not only Europe and America. How does this materialize? We clearly called the military. Maduro has the arms removed from the Republic, 27 sergeants tortured in the hold of the DGCIM [Direção Geral de Contrainteligência Militar] to generate fear and persecution. It is said that the perpetrators of these tortures are Cuban intelligence. We see how they kidnap children in Venezuela, we see how FAES kills. It is a question of social control, of generation of fear and terror. The only relationship the Venezuelan has had with the state is related to terror and subsidies. Grants less and less, and as for terror or fear, they are lost every day. If we were wondering what are the elements of a transition, it seems we have all the variables. It is necessary to unify them.

P. The support of the armed forces is at least uneven. What is your perception that makes you confident?

R. I am sure that at some point, as in Cotiza [uma bairro de Caracas onde 27 militares se rebelaram na semana pbadada] the discontent of the armed forces will be totally voiced and that their position should be close to the Constitution. Not only because we offer amnesty and guarantees. No, they also have a role to play in rebuilding the country.

P. Throwing an international intervention?

R. This was sold as a subject of the United States. It is true that we are asking, for example, the protection of badets, we are asking for humanitarian aid. On Thursday 31, when the European Parliament delivers its opinion, we will officially ask Europe to protect not only Venezuela's badets, but also to support humanitarian aid and project resources. We work in a dictatorship. Can we say that the transition has begun? We are in an unknown area, but we must move forward to consolidate ourselves.

P. What are your next steps? And how long do you plan to call for elections?

R. The first thing to do is that we have a "country plan", not only for reconstruction and emergency care, but also for the future and the long term. It is therefore a country of dreams. As far as deadlines are concerned, I repeat from the beginning: it is capacity building. Transitions are not decreed if they are built with the political force needed to defeat the dictatorship and move to democracy. There have already been many examples in the world: Poland, Venezuela in 1958, Chile and many other places. We have the necessary variables and we can exercise them to get it quickly. If tomorrow, for example, stops usurping and we begin the transition process, in six or nine months, up to 12 people could have free elections.

P. Why do you think Juan Guaidó is not in prison? You have become someone who personifies post-chavismo.

R. I have asked myself this question, especially since I have some prisoner friends, asylum friends, dead friends. I have been kidnapped twice and I believe that there is a turning point in the buildup of forces in society. This is not Juan Guaidó. It is the personification of a moment, the popular support, the will to change Venezuela, a country that wants to believe, the international support, the coalition of the opposition that is strengthening and moving forward. And there is an internal conflict, we have seen during these years the detachment of Chavismo. Luisa Ortega Diaz, Miguel Rodriguez Torres, internal dissent. It's a very fragile moment for Maduro and his diet.

P. But how do you think he's going to resist?

R. Maduro is a dictator. You will not wake up with an epiphany. Destroy the country, we have inflation of 2,000,000%, every day patients die for lack of supplies. We must put pressure on the social, international and international levels. Even if the case of Venezuela is atypical, we have the variables that give way to a transition and we can obtain it in a peaceful way. I do not believe that Maduro's environment and the top of the government want to be sacrificed knowing that the model has failed. They will not have the means to save the economy, the world does not recognize its constitutional powers. There are many pragmatic people around you and we are at the door, let's say, in an era prior to the transition.

P. Would you be willing to offer Maduro an outcome, a political agreement?

R. For 20 years, we have suffered a lot socially. We have seen deaths, forced displacements, migrations, we have seen detainees, but today we are seeing hunger, the need for medicine and the desire to change. If we combine and balance these elements, we are willing to talk to whom it is necessary to speak, provided that it is directed towards the end of the usurpation, the transitional government and the free elections. We have put on the table a guarantee and amnesty law, which some countries call transitional justice, the law of transition allowing all sectors to participate in this process. Would that include Chavismo?

R. This should include Chavismo. Chavismo will be a reality even when we overcome this process. If I were asked in 2016 for the weight of this political reality, I would have said 25%, 30% maximum. If you ask me today, this percentage is certainly much lower. But it is a political force and we must recognize it.

P. And what will be the political framework of the transition? His principles of inclusion.

R. Amplitude and governance. Tuesday, a deputy Tupamaros joined [um grupo governista]. We do not try to wring our hands, we try to reach out. It is a question of obtaining the governability, the stability and the attention of our people

P. We insist on what you think about speculation about an intervention.

R. Venezuela is a sovereign country, determined to win its freedom. I do not think it is necessary to reach a stage such as this one. We will exert the greatest possible pressure, which generates the least social costs and which helps us above all to save governance, public services and stabilize the economy.