Venezuela opposition weighs overhauling ‘interim government’

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Juan Guaidó has been the face of Venezuelans' efforts to restore their democracy since he took to the streets to challenge the rule of President Nicolás Maduro in early 2019.

But the 39-year-old former member of the country's legislature, the National Assembly, is at risk of being pushed aside by some of his one-time allies who feel Guaidó's leadership of the opposition isn't working and that they need to find a better way to connect with disillusioned voters ahead of the 2024 presidential elections.

Three of the four main opposition parties that make up the so-called interim government were set to vote Thursday on a proposal to replace Guaidó with a leadership by committee.

Guaidó, fighting for his political future, has warned that such a move would be unconstitutional and open the door to recognising 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 legislature, appear to be pressing ahead.

“The process that we began in January of 2019 has weakened and is no longer perceived as a real option for change,” the group of opposition leaders said in a statement Wednesday. “This country requires new paths that will help us to return to democracy.

In January 2019, the National Assembly, then controlled by the opposition, voted to stop recognising Maduro as president after several top potential opponents were barred from running against him. It then appointed Guaidó, a backbench lawmaker who was one of the few leaders in his Popular Will party to avoid arrest or exile, to be the nation's “interim president” in accordance with the order of succession outlined in Venezuela's constitution.

Guaidó was quickly recognised 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 gain control of any government institutions and, crucially, failed to win over the military.

In the meantime, Maduro has only strengthened his grip on power, even as regular Venezuelans suffer from high inflation, deepening poverty and widespread shortages made worse by US oil sanctions.

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.