Description: US – backed negotiations between Venezuela’s interim government and the political opposition in the country have started in Caracas after days of delaying. Jorge Rodriguez, the current leader of the National Assembly and brother of President Delcy Rodriguez is leading the government’s camp, while Dinorah Figuera is representing Venezuela’s political opposition. Former presidential candidates Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia were absent from the negotiations, however, they stated that they didn’t feel left out and wouldn’t impede Venezuela’s democratic progress. The agenda of the negotiations would undertake the country’s response to the deadly twin earthquakes in Jun, which left more than 6 thousand people dead, the reformation of the National Electoral Commission and legislature and judicial reforms in Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice. The primary goals of the negotiations according to the US is to ensure Venezuela’s transition towards a democratic political system and set the foundations for elections within the next year to year and a half.
Impact: The US is likely attempting to consolidate Venezuela’s fractured political landscape in order to ensure a transition towards a political system which would fall in line with Washington’s strategic priorities for the region in the long – term. The exclusion of the major opposition figures such as Machado and Urrutia likely indicates that the US considers the individuals unfavorable for the current transitory period of the country’s political system. By facilitating the negotiations, the US likely expands its strategic outreach in the country and constructs political bridges with influential members of the opposition such as Figuera, ensuring long – term strategic alignment between the two countries. The current government is likely in a favorable position to eliminate further political infighting in a system which has been ruled by one political party for decades. Venezuela’s opposition is highly likely considering the transitory period as an attempt to restore its political presence in the country and offer an alternative to the ruling party. The negotiations are unlikely to deliver anything substantial in the short – term, however, they likely set the basis for political reforms in Venezuela in several sectors.