The image evoked the worst moments of the 2019 crisis, in the midst of a dispute between President Nicolás Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó. On Friday morning, approximately 80% of Venezuela woke up without electricity; millions of people, those who get up the earliest, had to go to their jobs in the dark; and the government denounced sabotage. The hardest phases of the political conflict that the Caribbean country has suffered for two decades coincide with periods of isolation and collapse. And the blackouts aggravate these stages. The authorities are entrenched and tightening the siege against the opposition, which since the elections of July 28 has been fighting to maintain a public presence despite judicial and police harassment by Chavismo.
The mobilization called on Wednesday by the alliance of opposition forces showed that the platform led by María Corina Machado has resisted the government’s attacks and has enough momentum to continue claiming victory. However, it has to do so against the entire official apparatus, which controls every lever of public power. The week ended with the country in suspense over the future of Edmundo González Urrutia. The anti-Chavez candidate refused to respond, for the third consecutive time, to a summons from the Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating him for conspiracy and usurpation of functions, among other crimes. He argued that he would not appear because the prosecutor, Tarek William Saab, “condemns in advance and now promotes a summons without guarantees of independence and due process.” However, the veteran diplomat later chose to keep a low profile. He faces an arrest warrant, already announced by the Public Ministry and suggested by the president himself.
Chavismo, meanwhile, played two keys. On the one hand, it intensified its repression, with arrests of top collaborators of Machado and González Urrutia, seeking to demobilize opposition supporters. On the other, it entrenched itself. That is, it prepared itself for a possible increase in internal and external pressure. Maduro refuses to show the electoral records that prove his victory, despite the records published by his adversaries that affirm the contrary, the devastating report of one of the few independent observation organizations such as the Carter Center and the accusations that come even from the National Electoral Council (CNE). The head of the electoral authority, Juan Carlos Delpino, reported this week serious irregularities in the process and was immediately dismissed.
However, Hugo Chavez’s successor takes his victory for granted, is not willing to enter into negotiations with the opposition and rejects the mediation offered by left-wing governments such as Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Colombia’s Gustavo Petro or Mexico’s Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Going back to a period of isolation on the international stage does not seem to bother him too much either. The changes announced in the Venezuelan government this week confirm the president’s will to strengthen his core, who put Vice President Delcy Rodriguez at the head of the Oil Ministry and Diosdado Cabello in charge of the Interior and Justice, with responsibilities over the police forces. The appointment of the latter is especially significant, since the veteran leader is one of the most implacable scourges against the opposition.
Maduro’s strategy is not new. He seeks to wear down or force his rivals to give up. In parallel to the mobilization called by the opposition, the Chavistas staged a closing of ranks with the president in front of the Miraflores Palace. He urged González Urrutia, who has been holed up in a safe place for a month, to “show his face.” Although he also speculated about a possible escape and spoke of putting “hooks” on him for not appearing before the prosecutor. The climate of tension and fear has become increasingly palpable as the hours pass.
The collapse of the electrical system precipitated everything. From the first appearance of the Minister of Communication, Freddy Ñáñez, to the assessment offered at night by the president, all fingers pointed to the opposition and fed the theory of sabotage orchestrated abroad. Maduro assured that thanks to “the protections” placed on the Guri Hydroelectric Power Plant, in the south of the country, further damage was avoided. The Government accused “the fascist right”, as it usually calls the alliance led by María Corina Machado and González Urrutia, and “US imperialism” of planning the alleged attack against the main electricity generation node of the country. However, it did not present evidence. “It was the father of the attacks, but the protection systems we have put in place have worked. We defended Guri for the country.”
The comparison with 2019 is not a coincidence. Both then and now, the opposition attributes these power failures to the precariousness and lack of maintenance of the network. However, for the Chavista apparatus, it is the perfect premise to launch special contingency plans and increase police and military control. “We are better prepared and in better condition than when we received the attacks from the fugitive Juan Guaidó,” Maduro emphasized, adding that “an account called Anonymous, at the service of the war of hatred against Venezuela, threatened on several occasions with a national blackout.” “The investigations are advanced, accelerated, and will be deepened,” he continued before speaking of “a war room of the fascists” that is in the United States. The national blackout recorded in March 2019, which left a large part of the country without electricity for three days, was one of the most dramatic episodes of that crisis. Chavismo took advantage of this to tighten the judicial and police siege on its adversaries, most of whom had to go into hiding or, over time, leave the country.
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