The leader of the Venezuelan opposition, Juan Guaido, proposed, Tuesday, May 11, new negotiations with the Venezuelan power, asking for a “Calendar for free elections” against a lifting of sanctions. In the evening, the President of the Bolivarian Republic, Nicolas Maduro, left the door open for dialogue while minimizing the importance of this proposal.
“Venezuela needs a national salvation accord. An agreement between democratic forces (…), the regime and the international community ”, said in a video posted on social networks Mr. Guaido, recognized as interim president by part of the international community (58 countries, including the United States).
Negotiations between Mr. Maduro’s regime and the opposition have stalled since August 2019. Mr. Guaido claims “An agreement that includes a calendar for free and fair elections for the presidential, legislative, regional and municipal with support and international observers”.
Nicolas Maduro “ready to dialogue”
He believes that the international community can “Encourage the regime to gradually lift sanctions conditional on compliance with the objectives of the agreement”. Venezuela, which is going through a severe crisis, must face the economic sanctions imposed in particular by the United States, which seeks to oust Mr. Maduro from power.
Mr. Guaido also asks for the “Release of all political prisoners” and the authorization of “Massive entry of humanitarian aid and vaccines against Covid-19” as the country is hit by a virulent second wave of epidemics.
This call from Mr. Guaido comes a few days after the establishment of the new National Electoral Council (CNE) by the National Assembly, where the government has 256 seats out of 277. “We do not recognize” the CNE, which should normally organize municipal and regional elections before the end of the year, said Guaido.
Three of the five members of the CNE, including the president, are in favor of power, but it also includes two members of the opposition who are not in favor of Guaido. Mr Maduro reacted vehemently on Tuesday night on public television, saying to himself “Ready to dialogue”.
“The CNE was born out of a great dialogue with all sectors of the opposition, all sectors except one! The extremist sector, putschist, which facilitated the blows, the sanctions, the attacks ”, said Maduro, who did not spare his opponent.
” The bobolongo [“grand idiot”] now wants to dialogue because he is away, isolated, beaten, that no one consults him for nothing (…). If he wants to integrate the dialogues in progress, welcome! But let him not take himself for the leader, the supreme leader of a country which does not recognize him ”Mr. Maduro said to Mr. Guaido.
Mr. Guaido was the President of the National Assembly until the legislative elections of December 2020, elections boycotted by the opposition and which allowed the power to regain control of the Assembly, lost in 2015. The United States, l He European Union and several Latin American countries do not consider the current Assembly to be legitimate.
