The Venezuelan government and opposition are preparing to resume negotiations in Mexico in the coming days, which were suspended more than a year ago.
The talks, which formally began in September 2021, have been suspended since October last year, a month after they began. President Maduro ordered his delegation to withdraw in protest at the extradition to the United States of businessman Alex Saab, detained in Cape Verde.
After a rapprochement between the parties in Paris, the delegates of President Nicolás Maduro and the opposition hope to reactivate these talks this month with the creation of a “social solidarity fund.”
This social fund, consisting of around 3,000 million dollars, will be financed with frozen resources of the Venezuelan State that are in Europe. It will be used to attend health and food programs, and the deteriorated public electrical system.
The amount will be released in three years, but disbursements will be subject to project progress. The fund will be managed by the United Nations and will have overseers from the government and the opposition.
The talks are expected to discuss the extension of the operating license of the US oil company Chevron and the political guarantees that would include the definition of the conditions for the next elections, the release of political prisoners and the removal of political disqualifications.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro expressed his support for the rapprochement between the government and the Venezuelan opposition, led by Juan Guaidó, to resume dialogue.
“Undoubtedly there is progress, a development of the negotiating tables in Mexico,” Petro told reporters in Paris. He also expressed that during the interventions of the Venezuelan delegates it became clear that the resolution of the political conflict in Venezuela is possible, especially considering that “it has not brought about a violent outcome as in other countries we have had to live.”
His statement came after his participation in a round table in Paris, sponsored by French President Emmanuel Macron, to address the Venezuelan crisis.
The head of the Maduro government delegation and president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, and Gerardo Blyde, representative of the so-called Unitarian Platform, an opposition bloc made up of members who in 2021 tried to dialogue with government representatives during the negotiations in Mexico.
The head of the opposition delegation indicated that there is still no date to resume talks in Mexico, but expressed his wish that “it be as soon as possible.”
Argentine President Alberto Fernández and a representative from the Norwegian government were also present.
The rapprochement, in which Norway acted as a promoter, has been seen in the international community as a reason for hope to reach a peaceful and negotiated solution to the Venezuelan political, social and economic crisis.
On Monday, in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh, Macron and Maduro had a brief and cordial conversation behind the scenes of the COP27 international climate summit.
The occasion was propitious for the French head of state, who has been the object of criticism from the Venezuelan president, to recall his invitation for one of his representatives to meet with a delegate from the Venezuelan opposition in Paris.
Associated Press/OnCuba.
