Venezuela, a negotiation stalled and under threat of suspension

The political negotiation between the Government of Venezuela and the opposition has been stagnant for two months this Thursday, after the parties announced last November, to great fanfare, an agreement that has not materialized. With no progress in sight, patience is running out and the dialogue is once again under threat of suspension.

On November 26, the negotiators signed a “social agreement”, in Mexico, which contemplates the creation of a trust fund managed by the United Nations to channel US$ 3,000 million to alleviate hunger, disease and other needs in the country.

Two months after that announcement, all that remains is disbelief, a feeling that today affects the evaluation of the dialogue table and its effectiveness, or not, in resolving the great problems of Venezuela, especially given the proximity of presidential elections that the world sees it as a great opportunity to get out of the crisis.

Time-out

61 days have passed since the signing and Venezuela has not received any benefit from it. But the reality behind the scenes is even more discouraging, since the advances are so minuscule that they portend more months of waiting before that aid reaches any of the millions of people living in extreme poverty.

The opposition’s chief negotiator, Gerardo Blyde, said at a press conference that there is “a lot of work to do”, for which he asked the ruling party “roll up your shirt sleeves” Y “back to the table”, instead of putting an ultimatum on the continuity of the negotiations in view of the delay, something that anti-Chavismo recognizes exists.

Still, the anti-Chavista remarked, it is necessary “finish identifying” the Venezuelan wealth frozen abroad that they plan to use for this fund, a mechanism that has not even been created despite the numerous meetings in recent weeks.

A source linked to these conversations – who asked to remain anonymous – explained to EFE that the delay is due to the absence of representatives of the Executive branch from some meetings, the inability of the opposition to speed up procedures abroad and the extensive bureaucracy from the ONU.

Meanwhile, the country only knows that what has been agreed is not advancing and, if only the ruling party’s chief negotiator, Jorge Rodríguez, is listened to, that this is “because” of the opposition.

“There is no reason“to continue with the negotiation”if the return is not fulfilled” of money “Stolen”, said the Chavista, president of Parliament and plenipotentiary negotiator in these efforts.

Behind the scenes

But when there are no microphones on, the stridency disappears and that is when actors like Norway -the mediator of this process- and the UN seek to bring positions closer and resume the procedures, all in stages. “very incipient”a negotiator assured EFE that, “for taking care of the dialogue”, asked not to be identified.

Another person who participates in the technical meetings explained that the areas of work identified for the channeling of these resources are advancing unevenly. For example, the team that addresses health issues and child care shows greater progress than those achieved in terms of risk and disaster management.

The plan includes, among other tasks, repairing 2,300 schools and 14 hospitals, increasing electricity generation, improving immunization, ensuring treatment for 60,000 people with cancer and thousands more with HIV/AIDS, as well as supporting some of the 26,000 families who they were affected by the rains in 2022.

None of this has a materialization date and nobody dares to estimate how long it will be before something of that plan comes true, which fuels speculation about the limbo in which the talks entered.

In parallel, the Government has given clues about a possible advancement of the presidential elections for this year or about the creation of a new electoral body, issues that have not yet been discussed at the table, according to the opposition.

In any case, the center of these negotiations has always been to choose a new head of state in elections endorsed by the international community to put an end to the legitimacy crisis that began in 2019. That goal is still vague.

Source: EFE