Page 11 - LatAmOil Week 33 2021

LatAmOil VENEZUELA LatAmOil
Venezuelan government, opposition agree to begin talks on elections
VENEZUELAN government officials have met with representatives of opposition parties in Mexico City to discuss proposals for negoti- ating an end to the political stand-off that has damaged the country’s diplomatic standing and slowed economic activity, especially in the cru- cial oil and gas sector.
According to press reports, the government’s delegation was headed by Jorge Rodriguez, a high-ranking spokesman for President Nicolas Maduro and the speaker of Venezuela’s Parlia- ment, while the other side’s top delegate was Gerardo Blyde, a prominent opposition pol- itician. On August 12, both parties signed an agreement stating their intention to engage in a dialogue hosted by the government of Mexico and mediated by the government of Norway.
The document will not do much to alleviate Venezuela’s economic and political isolation in the near term. Instead, it provides for the government and the opposition to begin con- ducting talks on seven key issues, including the scheduling of new elections, the unfreez- ing of Venezuela’s foreign assets and the lifting of the sanctions imposed by the US and other countries.
The document lays the groundwork for the parties to resume discussions on a seven-item agenda in early September. However, it does not make any provisions for negotiating an end to Maduro’s term in office, even though the impasse between the two sides stems from the opposition’s allegation that the president used fraudulent means to secure re-election in December 2018.
Maduro has criticised the US government
for imposing sanctions in response to opposi- tion charges, accusing Washington of using an internal political debate as an excuse to try driv- ing his socialist regime out of office. He has also bristled at suggestions that he make concessions in exchange for a softening of trade restrictions, and he stuck to that posture ahead of last week’s meeting in Mexico City.
During an address broadcast by the state television channel on August 11, the president asserted that US policy had not driven the deci- sion to pursue negotiations with the opposition. The government delegation attended the talks “autonomously and independently and does not submit to blackmail or threats from the United States government,” he declared.
Nevertheless, the US, Canada and the EU responded to the start of the talks in Mexico City by saying that they were all prepared to “review sanctions policies if the regime makes mean- ingful progress” with respect to democratic elections and human rights.
Ned Price, a spokesman for the US State Department, spoke similarly, noting that US trade restrictions were designed to increase Venezuela’s accountability on these fronts. “We’ve also been clear that the Maduro regime can create a path to easing sanctions by allowing Venezuelans to participate in long-overdue free and fair presidential, parliamentary and local elections,” he said.
The US sanctions regime places limits on trade with Venezuela. It is particularly designed to discourage investment in oil projects, which are the South American state’s main source of foreign currency. ™
Parliament Speaker Jorge Rodriguez represented Caracas at the talks (Photo: Twitter/@jorgerpsuv)
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