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A majority of Venezuela’s opposition National Assembly voted Friday to replace the US-backed “interim government” of Juan Guaidó with a committee to oversee next year’s presidential primaries and protect the nation’s assets in the Foreign.
After several days of doubts, the Venezuelan opposition put an end to the “interim government” and its presidency by Juan Guaidó on Friday, December 30. The 39-year-old engineer had proclaimed himself president in January 2019, while the opposition and part of the international community did not recognize the re-election of Nicolás Maduro in 2018.
The former parliamentarians, meeting virtually, voted 72 in favor (29 against, 8 abstentions) to abolish the “interim” presidency and government. They ratified this decision -which they had already approved in a discussion that took place last week-, despite the rejection of a small group that defended the continuity of the interim.
This old parliament, elected in 2015, defends its continuity by considering the legislative elections won by the ruling party in 2020 fraudulent.
But Maduro has maintained control of nearly all of Venezuela’s institutions, including its security forces, and Guaidó’s “interim government,” which controls some foreign assets and runs many embassies, has seen its support wane.
A divided opposition
The vote reflects a shift in the balance of power within the opposition, which is trying to find new ways to connect with voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Guaidó’s approach, which was to preserve the interim, was supported by 23 former deputies who described the elimination of this figure as a “legal assassination.”
Eight opponents, some independent and others from the Encuentro Ciudadano and Proyecto Venezuela parties, abstained from the vote, questioning the constitutional legality of the proposal presented by three of the four main Venezuelan opposition parties (Primero Justicia, Acción Democrática and Un Nuevo Time).
Supporters say opposition control over foreign assets is not at risk and the dissolution is necessary for unity ahead of elections. “There are already tools to protect assets in the United States, the United Kingdom, Portugal,” said Primero Justicia legislator Juan Miguel Matheus.
“It is a leap in the dark. Today we capitulate. 72 deputies have capitulated,” Juan Guaidó reacted after the vote. However, he assured in a more consensual tone: “The differences that we have today, we will certainly dissipate them.”
The main opponent, Freddy Guevara, who supported the retention of the presidency, attacked his disappearance at the time of the vote: “I cannot understand how we commit this suicide. It should shame us all (…) We cannot guarantee that with this reform (abolition of the presidency) patrimony is protected. I want to be wrong, I want gold not to fall into the hands of Maduro in the future. If Maduro emerges stronger tomorrow, know that it is your responsibility.”
Strengthening Maduro’s position
Nicolás Maduro regularly mocked Guaidó’s “presidency” as a “Narnian world” or “imaginary”. The oil crisis caused by the war in Ukraine heated up relations between Maduro and Washington, which had sent emissaries to discuss directly with him.
Officially, the US or French positions have not changed, but in reality the foreign ministries have been discussing with the government of Nicolás Maduro for some time. Proof of this is the meeting filmed in the corridors of the COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) between Maduro and Emmanuel Macron. The French head of state addressed Maduro as “president” and assured him that he would call him.
On the other hand, South American countries such as neighboring Colombia or Brazil, which were governed by hard-right parties very hostile to Nicolás Maduro, have turned to the left in recent months, causing Juan Guaidó to lose important allies.
With EFE, AFP, Reuters and AP
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