The talks will focus on political and civil guarantees to lay the groundwork for a potential electoral process.
The Daily Journal.- The opposition delegation participating in talks with Chavismo met Tuesday to prepare the agenda for the third round of negotiations, scheduled to begin Wednesday. The discussions aim to advance an agreement on political and civil guarantees that would lay the groundwork for a potential electoral process in Venezuela.
“Preparing the agenda on political and civil guarantees, dialogue talks,” wrote Dinorah Figuera, head of the opposition delegation and former president of the National Assembly elected in 2015, in a post on her Instagram account. She accompanied the message with a photograph of the commission members attending the meeting.
The new round forms part of the political reconciliation talks that the United States has promoted between opposition representatives from the 2015 National Assembly and the interim government.
According to a report on the first two rounds, the discussions have yielded progress on institutional reforms and civil liberties. The announced results include a comprehensive overhaul of the judicial system and the reconstruction of an independent Supreme Court of Justice, restoring access to more than 70 previously blocked internet domains, and reforms to the Law Against Hate.
The report also indicates that the interim government has released more than 1,000 political prisoners and announced plans to free nearly 200 additional detainees.
The third round will seek to advance political and civil guarantees, a central issue in establishing conditions for potential electoral competition. However, the parties have not publicly disclosed the final agenda or details of any agreements that may emerge from the discussions.
The outcome of this process will play a crucial role in determining whether the negotiations lead to verifiable commitments on political rights, civil liberties, and electoral institutions in Venezuela.
Last Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed Dinorah Figuera in Washington and reaffirmed the White House’s support for the negotiations between the 2015 National Assembly and Delcy Rodríguez’s interim administration.
“This process that she is leading, together with her team, has 100% of our support, the strongest possible support from the highest levels of our government,” Rubio said during his meeting with Figuera in Washington.
The top U.S. diplomat maintained that Venezuela now has an opportunity to restore democracy after nearly a quarter-century of profound political and social crises.
“This is a country that has suffered almost a quarter-century of trauma, very deep trauma that has impacted every level of society,” Rubio said, adding that the current moment represents Venezuela’s best opportunity in nearly a generation to restore a democratic system.
