Venezuela opposition reshuffles Maduro’s priorities and calls for election with guarantee to lift sanctions | International

Venezuela’s opposition has taken it cautiously Nicolas Maduro’s equation Regarding the holding of guaranteed elections. The president on Wednesday conditioned his call for free and verified elections, a central objective of the dialogue agenda established in Mexico, to lift international sanctions. The economic measures used mainly by the United States with the aim of weakening Chavismo have already been reviewed, for example, Washington approved the license last week. Chevron Oil Company Can work again in Venezuela. However, Maduro’s statements occur in a specific context, negotiations, and opposition forces defend the need to change the factors: that is, the elections are first held under equal conditions and then remove the obstacles.

“Political sanctions are one thing, personal sanctions for committing crimes are another,” he stressed in statements to EL PAÍS. Leopoldo Lopez, founder of Voluntad Popular and a leading voice of the Venezuelan opposition. López says that once humanitarian and social agreements are established in the talks in Mexico, “the focus of the talks will be on the issue of elections in the second instance.” “The third phase is to negotiate political guarantees for the winners and losers of the elections. In the field of communication, Maduro has taken an approach that improves the order of debates. Of course Maduro can kick the table, he has already done so many times. It wouldn’t be surprising,” he added.

Carlos Vecchio, a representative of Juan Guaidó’s group in Washington and a member of the negotiating team in Mexico from Voluntad Popular, believes Maduro’s petition is “an open recognition that Venezuela has not had fair elections.” “If Maduro wants to lift sanctions, all he has to do is lift his dictatorship,” he began.

Both López and Vecchio, in any case, agree with the Joe Biden administration’s policy of relaxing checks against Chavismo, as long as these decisions are made in the context of a comprehensive political agreement. “If there are not enough guarantees for fair elections, it is important to consider the commitment that the easing of the ongoing sanctions will be reversed. It is no small thing that Maduro has been given these weeks as gestures to advance the dialogue. We want a dialogue that will produce results and give us the conditions that we do not have at the moment,” says López.

Stalin Gonzalez, From Un Nuevo Tiempo, a member of the opposition negotiating team, affirms that the political dialogue with Chavismo “should be seen as the first big step after so many years of diatribe.” “We continue to work hard to comply with the agenda set out in the MoU, which includes social issues, political and economic issues; “Guarantees that try to restore democracy, live freely and provide a larger framework of agreement for political coexistence in democracy”, González continues.

Juan Guaidó himself issued a public statement in which he pledged to “push for an agreement” with Maduro, saying international sanctions would “continue to be maintained” until a credible framework for fair elections is finalized. Guaidé recalled that Chevron had a license to exploit Venezuelan oil fields. “It’s reversible And for a limited period of time. With this premise, “Political dialogue is a useful tool if it brings us closer to a solution to a problem, not an end in itself.”

However, within the opposition negotiating team, there are stark differences of attitude regarding the purpose and usefulness of the dialogue, and a clear personal distance among its members based on their own experience in managing the struggle that ousted Maduro since 2019. If the leaders. For example, in other parties such as Voluntad Popular, practices with Chavismo, and An Nuevo Tiempo y Azione Democrática, there is a vertical interpretation of the need to set limits on concessions given to Maduro if he does not keep his word. Prioritizing the social agenda and national coexistence, the criteria for implementing appropriate and feasible agreements prevail, even if they are not perfect.

Follow all international information Facebook Y Twitteror inside Our weekly newsletter.