Maduro’s aid deal opposed
VENEZUELA: Facing an explosive crisis, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is considering allowing international food donations to enter his country, but wants the opposition to recognise the legitimacy of the controversial National Constituent Assembly (NCA).
Maduro also wants to control the distribution of the food donations – so far denied entry by the government despite growing food shortages and looting – according to sources close to the situation.
The proposal had been under consideration during negotiations between the government and opposition this week in the Dominican Republic, said three sources. Two of the sources are diplomats who have been briefed on the conversations, and the third is an opposition official.
The sources agreed that the arrival of humanitarian aid and the legitimacy of the NCA were two of the key issues under negotiation behind closed doors. Also on the agenda are United States sanctions against the Maduro government, and early presidential elections.
But the legitimacy of the NCA would be difficult for the opposition to accept. The umbrella Democratic Unity Roundtable has repeatedly labelled it as a fraud organised by Maduro to seize total and unchallenged control of the nation.
‘‘Accepting the Constituent Assembly means surrendering the country. It is legitimising the regime’s staying in power, and driving the final nail into the casket of freedom in Venezuela,’’ said Diego Arias, a former Venezuelan ambassador to the United Nations who lives in New York.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado agreed. ‘‘Any decision taken in the Dominican Republic to accept [the NCA] or even ignore it would be absolutely unacceptable to us,’’ she said.
The assembly was a fraudulent entity that could reverse any government decisions, including any agreement reached in the Dominican Republic, Machado added. This was why any agreement reached by the negotiators had to start with the dismantling of the NCA, so that the final terms could be accepted by the Venezuelan people, she said.
The Maduro government disagrees, according to the sources.
The government would be willing to allow the entry of humanitarian aid from the World Food Programme, a branch of the United Nations, in exchange for the opposition’s promise to stop challenging the NCA’s legitimacy, the sources said.
The government also would be willing to allow the opposition to appoint two members to the fivemember National Electoral Council, according to the sources. The opposition now holds only one seat on the council.
Hoping to sweeten the deal, the government also has offered to release some political prisoners and to agree to legally register some political parties that were previously abolished.
Opening the way for the food assistance might be initially portrayed as a victory for the opposition, whose popularity has been pummeled by its agreement to negotiate with the unpopular government.
But the arrival of the humanitarian aid would also resolve a serious problem for the government, which has been roundly criticised for economic policies that sparked the unprecedented food shortages.