CARACAS, Dec 30 — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Wednesday postponed to January 3 a decision on whether his “interim government” should be dissolved over its failure to dislodge hard-left President Nicolas Maduro from power.
The decision on Guaido’s future was set for Thursday, but the 39-year-old opposition figure announced the delay on Twitter.
“I assume (as president of the ‘interim government’) the deferral of the session in pursuit of the defense of the constitution and (to get) the necessary unity in favor of an agreement,” Guaido tweeted.
Almost four years ago, Guaido won the recognition of more than 50 nations as the legitimate ruler of Venezuela, after widely disputed elections that kept Maduro in power.
But while the opposition holds the purse strings to some of Venezuela’s assets abroad, Guaido’s failure to find a strategy to oust Maduro has caused his public support to plummet.
And his international backers, led by the United States, have adopted a more nuanced approach.
A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington “will continue to support Venezuela’s democratic opposition, the democratically elected National Assembly, and the interim government, regardless of what form it takes.”
At the same time, President Joe Biden’s administration has rewarded the Maduro government’s decision to return to talks with the opposition by a slight easing of sanctions on the Venezuelan oil industry.
In November, US oil giant Chevron was granted a six-month license, opening a crack in the tight lockdown of Venezuela’s economically vital oil industry. The gesture also provided some relief on the global energy market which saw prices shoot up as a result of the Russian war in Ukraine and subsequent international sanctions.
However, under the deal, profits are not allowed to go to the Venezuelan state oil company partnering Chevron and will instead be used to pay down debt owed to the US company. The senior US official stressed that “we can amend or revoke the license at any time should the Maduro regime fail to negotiate in good faith or follow through on its commitments.”
Meanwhile, some Latin American countries — including Brazil, Colombia and Argentina — have recently elected leftist leaders in a pink wave.
In Venezuela, some opposition factions did not want to delay the vote on Guaido’s future but acceded to requests to debate further, even as they warned that bickering weakened them.
“Let us exhaust the path of consensus,” said Juan Pablo Guanipa, member of Justice First, one of the four opposition parties proposing to put an end to the “interim government.”
“If something favours the dictator Maduro, it is our fractures and our division,” he said.
Guanipa’s party, together with the Democratic Action, A New Time and Movement for Venezuela parties, said that they had not been consulted on postponing the session.
In order to decide the fate of the “interim government,” the 2015 parliament — currently with 104 members — must hold two votes.
Last Thursday, a first debate was held in which two proposals came up for a vote: one to end Guaido’s presidency as of January 5, which received 72 votes, and another that would extend it for another year, which had 23.
There were nine abstentions.
Guaido’s Popular Will party says ending his “interim government” would allow Maduro to regain control of Venezuelan resources blocked abroad by sanctions.
The opposition plans to hold primaries in 2023 to elect a single candidate to face Maduro in the next presidential elections, scheduled for 2024. Guaido is among the possible candidates. — AFP
