Deal between Venezuelan gov't and opposition welcomed worldwide

Wednesday, October 18th 2023 - 09:29 UTC

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Negotiations will continue until the liberation of the 300 political prisoners and other topics can be discussed, Blyde said

The agreement signed Tuesday in Barbados between the Venezuelan government of President Nicolás Maduro and the main opposition leaders has been welcomed by the European Union, the United States, Brazil, and Argentina among other players on the world stage.

Pursuant to the new arrangement, those who have been disenfranchised as well as opposition political parties will have a “route” to recover their rights while international observers will be invited to the 2024 presidential elections scheduled for the second half of the year.

Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodríguez on behalf of Maduro's government and Gerardo Blyde representing the opposition Unitary Platform and their teams took only a few hours to pen the document.

Blyde highlighted that what happened in Barbados was the first step and the result of a long road of 2 years of negotiations that began in Mexico and will also continue until the liberation of the 300 political prisoners and other topics can be discussed.

“Today we signed an important agreement. We took a solid step that paves the way for us to recover our confidence in the vote,” he said. The agreement includes “guarantees for the internal selection process of our candidates to be respected and very especially, relevant today's date, before the event of the primaries called for October 22.”

It also includes “a route for the disenfranchised and the political parties to recover their rights with celerity”. It establishes the qualified electoral observation of the European Union, the Carter Center, and the panel of experts of the United Nations, as well as other organizations.

Maduro's government pledged to establish an electoral schedule for the presidential elections in the second semester of 2024 and to update the Electoral Registry to include Venezuelans abroad.

The deal also provides for the access of all candidates to the media, in addition to the full respect for freedom of expression in national and international news outlets, for which a verification and follow-up

mechanism is established.

“It is one more step on the road”, stressed Blyde, “An important one, where all Venezuelans who aspire and want a change must contribute with the materialization of the agreement that is being signed today”. He indicated that the negotiation process is not paralyzed. “It will continue within the framework of the memorandum of understanding they signed in Mexico two years ago. ”It is the route to achieve the welfare of the Venezuelan people. An inclusive democracy and a culture of tolerance and political coexistence.“

He thanked the Kingdom of Norway for facilitating the dialogue process and all the allied countries that supported and accompanied him. Norwegian mediator Dag Nylander congratulated Jorge Rodríguez and Gerardo Blyde for their commitment to bringing the negotiation to a successful conclusion.

”We welcome the Venezuelan-led political agreement reached today in Barbados. This agreement represents a necessary step in the continuation of an inclusive dialogue process and the restoration of democracy in Venezuela,“ read a joint statement issued Tuesday by the United States, the European Union, Canada, and the United Kingdom, which was signed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken; EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell; Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly; and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

”We support a peaceful negotiated outcome leading to fair and competitive elections and a return to economic stability and security,“ it went on.

”With these agreements, Venezuela takes one more step on the road to put an end to the criminal unilateral coercive measures adopted against our people, and the recovery of the welfare state achieved by the Bolivarian revolution,“ the note also pointed out.

According to the Planalto Palace, Brazil finds that the deal opens ”the way, furthermore, for the progressive lifting of the sanctions imposed on Venezuela and which have penalized the population of the country.“ The government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also expressed its satisfaction with the agreement to promote political rights and electoral guarantees which will open the way for the progressive lifting of sanctions imposed on the country. Special advisor to the Brazilian presidency and former Foreign Minister Celso Amorim represented Brazil at Tuesday's ceremony in Barbados.

”The lifting of sanctions is fundamental for social peace in Venezuela and in the entire region. Therefore, we see in a very positive way all that process that we accompany and to which President Lula's attitudes contributed,“ Amorim told G1.

Argentina's Foreign Ministry expressed the South American country's ”satisfaction“ with the agreement, ”which is a step forward in the resumption of negotiations in Venezuela between the government and the opposition.” Buenos Aires' Ambassador to Barbados Ciro Ciliberto was present at Tuesday's announcements.