[ad_1]
CARACAS (Venezuela), Dec. 22 (AP) — Juan Guaidó has been the voice of Venezuelans trying to restore democracy since he took to the streets in early 2019 to challenge the rule of President Nicolás Maduro.
But the 39-year-old former member of the country’s legislature, the National Assembly, risks being pushed aside by some of his one-time allies who believe Guaido is ineffective at leading the opposition and need to find a way forward before the 2024 presidential election. A better way to connect with disappointed voters.
Three of the four main opposition parties that make up the so-called interim government will vote on Thursday to propose replacing Guaido with a council leader.
Guaido, who has fought for his political future, has warned the move would be unconstitutional and open the door to recognition of Maduro’s “dictatorship”.
But the former lawmakers — who were elected to the National Assembly in 2015 but saw their terms expire five years later and now operate as a symbolic shadow to Maduro’s rubber-stamping legislation — appear to be pressing ahead.
“The process we started in January 2019 has weakened and is no longer seen as a real option for change,” the opposition leadership group said in a statement on Wednesday. “This country needs a new path to help us return to democracy.
Several of his most potential opponents were barred from running against Maduro in January 2019 when the then-opposition-controlled National Assembly voted to stop recognizing Maduro as president.
It then named backbencher Juan Guaido, one of the few leaders of his Popular Will Party party to avoid arrest or exile, as the country’s “interim president,” according to the order of succession stipulated in Venezuela’s constitution. one.
Guaido was quickly recognized as Venezuela’s legitimate leader by the United States and dozens of governments in Europe and Latin America. But his interim government was unable to control any government institutions and, crucially, failed to win over the military.
Meanwhile, Maduro has only tightened his grip on power even as ordinary Venezuelans are suffering from high inflation, rising poverty and widespread shortages, made worse by U.S. oil sanctions.
Jeff Ramsey, a Venezuelan analyst at the Latin America Office in Washington, said the proposal to restructure the interim government reflected an effort by the opposition to accommodate growing frustration among Venezuelans. In a November poll conducted by one of the country’s top universities, 57 percent of Venezuelans said the interim government should be disbanded, and just 6 percent said they would vote for Guaidó in the primary. See who Will oppose Maduro should he decide, as is widely expected, to seek a third term.
“Venezuelans have come out of the interim government experiment,” Ramsey said. “This proposal is a nod to the broader opposition that they need to find ways to reconnect with the population, not just sit back, cross their arms, and wait for the military to pull the plug from Maduro.”
Mariano de Alaba, a Venezuelan analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank, said removing Guaido from his post would make the primaries more competitive because he would not have access to the funds and mechanisms of an interim government.
“They are trying to close this chapter because the opposition is looking for a new leader,” De Alba said.
Guaidó officially lost his position as head of the National Assembly at the end of 2020, when the five-year term in parliament came to an end. But opposition parties boycotted congressional elections held by Maduro’s government that year, and instead lawmakers elected in 2015 continued to legislate in parallel with the Maduro-controlled National Assembly.
Earlier this month, Guaido asked the opposition to extend his tenure as head of the interim government for another year. But on Wednesday, 67 opposition lawmakers signed a statement saying they would vote to change how the interim government operates.
One of the circulating proposals calls for the creation of a commission of opposition lawmakers to facilitate the transition to democracy, handle cooperation with foreign governments and protect Venezuelan government assets abroad.
Those overseas assets include Citgo, a Houston-based oil refinery, whose control was handed over to an opposition-appointed manager after the Trump administration withdrew its recognition of Maduro’s government.
Citgo has been suing Venezuelan government creditors who want to seize its U.S. assets as compensation for outstanding debts accumulated by Maduro’s government.
With many opposition politicians fleeing Venezuela, Thursday’s session of the interim parliament took place virtually. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
[ad_2]
Source link