US withdraws support for Juan Guaidó in Venezuela: will they approach Nicolás Maduro?

This was announced for the first time by the US State Department does not recognize the “interim presidency” by Juan Guaido. The opposition leader has had the backing of “Washington” since January 2019, when the young politician proclaimed himself president of Venezuela.

Guaidó was recognized by dozens of countries as the true leader of Venezuela, considering that the government of Nicolás Maduro was illegitimate after winning rigged elections in which much of the opposition was unable to participate.

When he assumed his parallel mandate, he denounced a “usurpation of power” by Maduro, and promised a transitional government and free elections. However, the goal of removing the Chavista leader from power has not worked.

With 72 votes in favor, 29 against and 8 abstentions, the opposition – led by the parties Primero Justicia, Acción Democrática and Un Nuevo Tiempo – decided last Thursday that Guaidó will not continue as head of Venezuela’s interim presidency.

In any case, until this Tuesday the opposition leader maintained the description of “President (I) of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela” on his social networks.

The location of the United States

For its part, the State Department has come to recognize the members of the National Assembly elected in 2015 as leaders, considering that Maduro “is not the legitimate leader of Venezuela”.

In an interview broadcast last Sunday, Maduro said he was willing to normalize relations with the United States.

The parties – which previously supported Guaidó and participated in the interim – said the interim government “has ceased to be useful”, as well as not holding elections and confronting corruption scandals.

The National Assembly, elected by popular vote in 2015 and which provided the largest number of opponents to the Venezuelan Parliament, assumed “special powers” and decided to extend his term for another year. It is the third time in a row since the opposition denounced the 2020 parliamentary elections as fraudulent.

The opposition group has taken the lead in the administration of Venezuelan assets abroad that remain in the hands of the opposition. The 2015 Assembly also revoked all government structures, including embassies and diplomatic missions, which reported to Guaidó.

The group of deputies elected in 2015 retained only a few leaders, including the boards of directors of Citgo, the US branch of the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), appointed by Guaidó. The councils of the newly created Wealth Management and Protection Council and the Expense Management Council were also saved.

For Daniel Varnagy, doctor of political science and professor at the Simón Bolívar University, the leadership of that interim government lasted only “a few months”, between January and April 2019, the period between the rise of Guaidó and the failed organized revolt by him and Leopoldo López against the Maduro government.

“In April it was seen that this leadership was in the figure of (Leopoldo) López and not in that of Guaidó. In terms of leadership, a curve of great disappointment has begun”, explains the analyst.

Venezuela’s gold to Britain

One of the concerns of the opposition that has rejected the continuity of the interim government falls on the 31 tons of gold, valued at almost 1,000 million dollars (more than 5,000 million reais), which are kept in a bank in England. Opposition deputies they fear that this legacy will return to the tutelage of the Maduro governmentwhich they consider “illegitimate”.

Freddy Guevara, of the Popular Will party (VP, the same as Guaidó), and Juan Miguel Matheus (Primero Justicia) said that if overseas assets pass into the hands of the Maduro Executive, the governments of Great Britain and the United States ” he will have to answer for the delivery of the goods to a human rights violator”.

Guevara stressed that “those who voted in favor of dissolving the interim will be responsible for the loss of gold.”

Despite the high rate of pushbacks, the Venezuelan government remains under the power of the Chavista president, Varnagy stressed. “The legitimacy of the position clearly falls on Maduro’s shoulders,” he says.

“So much so that almost all the countries that want or try to re-establish some kind of relationship with Venezuela do so through the Maduro government and not through what was the interim period,” says the political scientist.

In the last months, Maduro has emerged from international political ostracism. Among the changes, he came to play an important role in the peace talks between the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Colombian government. After years of closure, the borders between the two countries have reopened. The new center-left Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, supports the return of Venezuela to the human rights system of the Organization of American States (OAS).

Another significant change has come from Spain, which has appointed an ambassador to Venezuela. after two years of political crisis. Already in Brazil, previously rejected by former president Jair Bolsonaro, Maduro was invited to attend the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, although he eventually opted out.

Black clouds for the opposition

According to the Venezuelan electoral calendar, presidential elections are scheduled for the end of 2024. The Maduro government has been campaigning since last year. The opposition, for its part, finds itself in a complex situation, according to Varnagy.

“Right now, the leadership of the opposition is as low as it was when there was an interim, with extremely low levels of expectation and trust,” he says.

In times of vacant posts, old opposition names, hitherto discreet in everyday political life, have returned to the scene.

This is the case of María Corina Machado, coordinator of the Vente Venezuela party, who invited citizens to participate in the renewal of the opposition leadership. On social media you asked your followers that “this 2023 we will replace and complete the job”. According to her, the opportunity for change is real. “We won’t let him go,” she urged.

For the political scientist Varnagy, although some groups define themselves as the opposition, there is a certain flexibility on their part with the Maduro government.

“The strengthening of the opposition is mandatory. However, I have serious doubts that a political opposition will form. There are many interest groups in what we call ‘opposition’. And these economic interest groups meet permanently with the government (of Maduro) and are trying to move forward in these negotiations, in quotation marks”.

Source: RFI

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