A year without political dialogue in Venezuela
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Loading... - Jordan Thompson
- 17 Oct 2022
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The Government of Venezuela has not had a dialogue with the opposition for a year, at least formally, since the parties suspended negotiations in Mexico and began a process of underground rapprochements and parallel incentives that even today they seek to insist on a reactivation of the talks.
2022, a year without elections and a vociferous economic recovery, put in the background the need for a political dialogue in the country, which does not annul all the movements made by the parties, and by other actors, to return to the table formal dialogue and avoid secret meetings.
Although, in mid-May, the heads of both delegations held a working meeting in Caracas with a view to reestablishing the mechanism, so far there is no certainty and, meanwhile, time is running in favor of the Government.
Behind the scenes
Chavismo maintains a "constant" dialogue with "all the oppositions", or so President Nicolás Maduro repeats it, which makes it clear that, although the talks in Mexico were interrupted by his own decision, he has not closed the channels for understandings without the observation of international guarantors.
The last meeting, at least that is known, took place in June in Norway, where the heads of both delegations traveled to participate in the Oslo Forum. What was discussed on that occasion remains a summary secret.
The Executive has moved stealthily and, thus, has managed to add 12 months without political instability. But, not only that, but it has also made progress in its direct relationship with the United States, whose government has sent at least two delegations to Caracas for meetings with abstract purposes such as "security."
Value exchanges
Under this halo of mystery, Maduro struck a masterstroke this month by exchanging seven imprisoned Americans in Venezuela for two nephews of his wife, Cilia Flores, convicted of drug trafficking in the United States. The transaction, which was completed outside the negotiation table, is an incentive to dialogue, the same one that Washington is pressing to reactivate.
Behind this exchange, there were offers and counteroffers that are unknown but that are related to the US interest in resuming negotiations for the 2024 presidential elections, elections that could be brought forward, as Maduro himself recently suggested and in which numerous partners in the country have their expectations placed. Read More…
