Juan Guaido: The transformation of the self-proclaimed president of Venezuela

He is good with a crowd, sneaking up to the podium at a recent gathering of worshipers and hopping over barriers with a youthful ease that could rekindle the memory of his days as a militant student. at the Catholic University of Caracas.

And perhaps most importantly, it has succeeded in shattering the anger many Venezuelans are feeling about the collapse of their economies, the collapse of social services, food shortages and inflation. astronomical – a more powerful hope.

"It's something we've always told him." When Obama became president, we told him, "Walk like Obama," Guaido's mother, Norka, told CNN. "Obama rolls up his sleeves, and [Guaido] does that too, but it's not like he's imitating Obama, "she added.

"Juan is out and he is surprised because he did not think he would be president even for an interim period," said Roberto Patino, a senior badistant to Guaido, who will soon lead relief operations of Guaido.

"But we have seen what this government has done and we are all trying to do something about it," he added. "For the first time in many years, there is a kind of hope that we will have new presidential elections."

The political awakening of Juan Guaido

When asked about what irritated Guaido most, his wife Fabiana admitted that it could be a little bottled. "I think that his strength, the strength that he also transmits, sometimes does not allow anything to break it, and may be blocking a lot of feelings," she said. "And I believe that this path has brought him to that, to take his feelings and to grasp them and keep them here, not to let them out, not to express them."

But Guaido is "completely different" with their 21-month-old daughter, she says. "With her, he may express himself differently from what we see when he is in the street, we see a man with great strength and with his daughter, you see such a great love."

Norka describes the young Guaido, one of four boys, as gregarious, beach lover and sportsman. He has often shown signs of leadership and an aptitude for mediation, she says. Although her family has not been involved in politics, she says there has never been any particular party affiliation.

Guaido's political awakening may be due to his first confrontation with the state's failures: his hometown, La Guaira, was completely wiped off the map by the Vargas landslide in 1999.

Guaido's house was destroyed and many of his friends died in the disaster. "We lost everything, but thank God we survived, we were given a second chance to live," Norka said. "That has deeply marked him."

After his university studies, his political ambitions crystallized when he joined the failure of a campaign to prevent the closure of Radio Caracas by Chavez in 2007. He then joined Leopoldo Lopez to found the Voluntad Popular National Political Party (popular will) in 2009. Assembly in 2011 and badumed its lead role in early January.

Stand off on the world stage

Guaido has a flair for theatrical politics. In 2015, he went on a hunger strike for two weeks as part of a campaign to force the government to hold parliamentary elections.

He is now organizing humanitarian aid to three crossing points in Venezuela from Colombia, Brazil and the Caribbean Islands, while outgoing President Maduro insists the country does not need to # 39; s help. In doing so, Guaido challenges the armed forces to maintain a national blockade so as not to remain faithful to Maduro or to let the necessary food and supplies finally enter this impoverished country.

Maduro, who briefly arrested Guaido in early January and recently hinted that he would do it again, also has some dramatic tricks. Last week, Guaido publicly accused Venezuelan special forces, loyal to Maduro, of circling his family's home in an alleged intimidation attempt.

"As human beings, we have moments of weakness or moments when we think something bad is going to happen," said his wife, Fabiana. "Last week [when special forces surrounded their home] I did not feel scared, but rather frustrated because of what could have happened to my daughter. "

The Venezuelan constitution allows the president of the National Assembly to badume the presidency if there is "a power vacuum". Guaido, who argues that the election of Maduro to the presidency last year was illegitimate, says that such a vacuum exists and that he has a constitutional mandate to fill it. .

The United States, a large part of the European Union and most South American countries have recognized Guaido as a legitimate acting president and have called for new elections in Venezuela. But until now, Guaido has not managed to get support from the armed forces, at least in public.

Meanwhile, Maduro, who has the support of the Supreme Court, rejected requests for new presidential elections, proposing instead a "dialogue". Until now, this suggestion was rejected by the Guaido camp.

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of La Guaira.