Con 25 años de Revolución Bolivariana a cuestas, ya está probado el método de represión selectiva, cuya síntesis  pudiera  expresarse  en  la molienda del líder. Es el núcleo de la franquicia castrista: descabezar todo intento de oposición real a su sistema de dominio. A medida que los líderes opositores van caducando, el puñado de agentes estelares de la destrucción, engordan, fagocitan, envejecen y se reproducen en la endogamia del poder despótico venezolano.  Nuestra sociedad, de manera deliberada o inconsciente, ha prestado las aspas al molino.  No obstante, la larga lista de hombres y mujeres que han persistido en enfrentar la tiranía, incluso a riesgo de sus vidas, representan en esencia lo poco que nos permite afirmar   “Venezuela no es Cuba”. Debería ser reconfortante contar con líderes y millones de seguidores dispuestos a continuar  luchando sin invocar la lástima del mundo pero sí, nuestro derecho a ser libres.   Cabe preguntarse, ¿por qué ha sido tan eficiente esa máquina trituradora? ¿Existe una debilidad intrínseca que permite al régimen moler a los líderes hasta volverlos  detritos? Y más aún, ¿hasta qué punto la sociedad venezolana participa del aquelarre demoledor que termina descabezando la resistencia a la opresión? Nos aventuramos en algunas respuestas:… By Enzo Serrano Paéz. Texto Completo-> LaGranAldea

Venezuela se prepara para unas votaciones primarias en las que los partidos de oposición buscan elegir a un único candidato que enfrente a Nicolás Maduro en las presidenciales de 2024. Pero no será una decisión fácil: la oposición venezolana ha estado fragmentada, sobre todo desde que se disolvió el autoproclamado Gobierno interino de Juan Guaidó a finales de 2022, y ni siquiera los líderes opositores tienen un consenso sobre si son necesarias o no las primarias. Lo analizamos en este debate. Vea el Video-> Francia 24 Español

It is no secret to anyone that Venezuela’s opposition parties are divided due to variations in size, resources, availability of leadership, ideology, and commitment to democratic norms. These differences have led to different approaches to achieving change.

From 2009 to 2016, the opposition parties managed to maintain their unity through the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD). However, its success in the 2015 elections, followed by repression and an interim government that has been losing national and international support, has created divisions between factions. A field seeks the end of the regime and the immediate confrontation with corruption. The other group wants a gradual democratization process that offers reconciliation and ambitious democratizing reforms.

There has been an attempt to close the gap in the national primaries, but it is unclear whether the entire opposition will follow the rules of the Unitary Platform, as the candidates have already started blaming each other for past failures. This could decrease voter turnout, as it may give the impression that the winner of the primary election will impose their own agenda instead of representing the diversity of the opposition’s collective agenda. In this sense, it is important to remember the “Punto Fijo” Pact (1958), which established a commitment to support the electoral winner and also the commitment, on the part of the winner, to share power. The main participants must adhere to a minimum joint program and electoral campaign in order for the winner to participate.

The government is expected to use traditional divisive tactics, including manipulation and repression, in an attempt to weaken the opposition vote. It is up to the democratic parties to align their programs and work together to build a strong alliance to survive the primaries. To achieve this, they must de-emphasize their individual agendas and negotiate internal pacts to restore democracy in Venezuela.

The Venezuelan opposition needs to rebuild its internal relations. Coalition formation should be encouraged, national and international actors could provide equitable access to material and non-material resources, facilitate cooperation with civil society groups, and condition support on compliance with collectively designed rules.

   The international community must understand that due to the humanitarian and economic crisis in Venezuela, there is a risk that citizens will disengage from politics or leave the country, so it is crucial that they support this process.

 A change in the political direction of Venezuela will undoubtedly result in benefits for most of the countries that are receiving hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants. And it will improve the international relations of the region.

In this sense, the 2024 presidential elections could mark a turning point based on the decisions made by opposition candidates and parties in the coming months.

Fernando Blasi, the new representative of Venezuela’s opposition in the U.S., has urged the Biden administration to ease crippling oil sanctions on the Maduro government or risk Venezuela becoming another authoritarian regime like Cuba, with Washington blamed for economic hardships. Blasi’s comments to The Associated Press differed from the opposition’s past strategy of a “maximum pressure campaign” to force Maduro out of power. The opposition has now replaced this with a more horizontal leadership of mostly exiled politicians. The Biden administration is willing to provide sanctions relief but has mostly left the sanctions in place.

Blasi urges the United States government to quickly ease the Venezuela sanctions to help alleviate the country’s economic suffering. He says the concessions would provide much-needed relief to Venezuelans suffering from high inflation and shortages. The Biden administration has shown interest in providing targeted, time-limited sanctions relief, adding that they will focus on the humanitarian needs and positive democratic outcomes of the country. Nevertheless, Blasi warns that time is running out, and the government needs to make good on its commitment.

The new representative of Venezuela’s opposition owes a lot of his newfound prominence to his association with the New Era party, which is centered around his hometown, Maracaibo/ Zulia, and it is allied with Manuel Rosales, the actual governor of Zulia state. He aims at improve relations with Democrats and secure bipartisan support for the opposition. He wants to avoid past mistakes, where the opposition rallied behind one political party, which sidelined the views of the other. Blasi thinks that the Trump administration’s support of the Venezuelan’s fight for freedom led the opposition to back Republican politicians from Florida. Therefore, Blasi wants to ensure that both the Democrats and Republicans support the cause without party affiliations pitting against the will of the nation.

You can isolate some of the oil-rich strongmen all of the time, or all of the oil-rich strongmen some of the time, but that’s about it these days, as Joe Biden is quickly learning.Last week, it emerged that the White House is exploring ways to relax certain sanctions against the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro. Under a proposed deal, Washington would allow US oil major Chevron to resume exporting oil from the country while Maduro, for his part, would agree to restart talks with the opposition about free and fair elections. By Alex Kliment. Full Text -> GZero

Traducción de cortesía -> Se puede aislar a algunos de los hombres fuertes ricos en petróleo todo el tiempo, o a todos los hombres fuertes ricos en petróleo en algún momento, pero eso es todo lo que se puede hacer en estos días, como Joe Biden está aprendiendo rápidamente. La semana pasada, trascendió que la Casa Blanca está explorando formas de relajar ciertas sanciones contra el régimen venezolano de Nicolás Maduro. Según un acuerdo propuesto, Washington permitiría a la petrolera estadounidense Chevron reanudar la exportación de petróleo del país, mientras que Maduro, por su parte, aceptaría reiniciar las conversaciones con la oposición sobre elecciones libres y justas.

Opposition leader Juan Guaidó heads the list of candidates of the Unitarian Platform who will compete in the open primaries of the opposition, scheduled for 2023, to choose the nominee of the unit that will face Nicolás Maduro in the next presidential elections in Venezuela in 2024. The objective of the opposition led by Guaidó and the platform of 10 parties that supports it is to lead a unitary candidate that he can achieve a change in the Chavista government that has been in power for 23 years, which has plunged the country into poverty, misery and destruction and its complex humanitarian crisis with 6.8 million Venezuelans displaced by the mass exodus. Full Text -> Zyri

Traducción de cortesía -> El líder opositor Juan Guaidó encabeza la lista de candidatos de la Plataforma Unitaria que competirán en las primarias abiertas de la oposición, previstas para 2023, para elegir al candidato de la unidad que enfrentará a Nicolás Maduro en las próximas elecciones presidenciales en Venezuela de 2024. El objetivo de la oposición que encabeza Guaidó y la plataforma de 10 partidos que la sustenta es encabezar una candidatura unitaria que pueda lograr un cambio en el gobierno chavista que lleva 23 años en el poder y que ha sumido al país en la pobreza. miseria y destrucción y su compleja crisis humanitaria con 6,8 millones de venezolanos desplazados por el éxodo masivo

Omar Barboza, recién designado como coordinador ejecutivo de la Plataforma Unitaria opositora, anunció que en algún momento de este año se definirá la fecha en la que se celebrarán esas votaciones para seleccionar a su abanderado. “La fecha de la elección primaria la definiremos antes de finalizar este año y su realización se producirá durante 2023. Será transparente, amplia e incluyente”, expresó sobre el proceso, acompañado de dirigentes opositores, en Caracas. Texto Completo -> VOA

Las delegaciones negociadoras de ambas partes se encuentran en Oslo para participar en un foro. Una fuente noruega dijo recientemente a VOA que “es probable” que reinicien las conversaciones en México, pero “no de inmediato”. Texto Completo -> VOA

︎For English text, use Google’s translator at the bottom ︎

The Unitary Platform said in a statement that it has reshaped into a “broad and inclusive” organization with clear rules and areas of concrete work.“As of this moment, we will begin a deep consultation process with the entire country in order to jointly build this powerful mechanism for the selection of the single candidate,” it said. The announcement follows a recent meeting between opposition representatives and U.S. officials in Central America to discuss a path forward for the Unitary Platform as negotiations with the administration of President Nicolás Maduro remain deadlocked. ByRegina Garcia Cano . Full Text -> TheWashingtonPost

Comunicado de la Plataforma Unitaria -> Leer

Traducción de cortesía -> La Plataforma Unitaria dijo en un comunicado que se ha reconfigurado en una organización “amplia e inclusiva” con reglas claras y áreas de trabajo concretas. “A partir de este momento iniciaremos un proceso de consulta profunda con todo el país para construir de manera conjunta este poderoso mecanismo de selección del candidato único”, dijo. El anuncio sigue a una reunión reciente entre representantes de la oposición y funcionarios estadounidenses en América Central para discutir el camino a seguir para la Plataforma Unitaria mientras las negociaciones con la administración del presidente Nicolás Maduro siguen estancadas.

Traducción al español -> Google Translación

Just as we work to overcome our divisions, so too must the international community. Venezuela’s democracy deserves a fighting chance. Our international allies must ensure that Venezuelans’ struggle for freedom is not traded away for elusive cents on the gallon, but that sanctions relief instead form the basis for true democratic renewal. By By Isadora Zubillaga. Full Text -> ForeignPolicy

Traducción de cortesía -> Así como trabajamos para superar nuestras divisiones, también debe hacerlo la comunidad internacional. La democracia de Venezuela merece una oportunidad de lucha. Nuestros aliados internacionales deben garantizar que la lucha de los venezolanos por la libertad no se canjee por escurridizos centavos por galón, sino que el alivio de las sanciones sea la base de una verdadera renovación democrática