Venezuelan Government and Opposition Begin Talks in Mexico

On Friday afternoon, the government of President Nicolas Maduro and members of the Venezuelan opposition begin a new negotiation process in Mexico City.

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Mexico's Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard received a communiqué from the Norwegian government, indicating that the parties have entered the final phase of exploratory talks and are ready to begin negotiations. Last week, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) announced that his country would host the meetings from August 13-16.

"What we are looking for is dialogue and agreements between the parties. These are talks between the Venezuelan government and the opposition. Hopefully, an agreement will be reached," he said.

On Thursday afternoon, President Maduro ratified that his government will take part in the dialogues without yielding to U.S. pressures.

"Venezuela does not submit to blackmail or threats from the U.S. government. You do what you have to do. We will do what we have to do for happiness, independence, and peace," he said, adding that the participation of Venezuela in these talks is based on three unrenounceable conditions and a fourth condition in the process of consultation.

For there to be real progress in the negotiations, the Bolivarian government proposes the immediate lifting of all sanctions against Venezuela, the recognition of all legitimate and constitutional authorities in Venezuela, and the renunciation of all forms of violence and conspiracy by the opposition.

A fourth condition would be the incorporation of all sectors of the opposition to the dialogue process because there are new leaderships in the South American country. For this reason, Maduro considers it necessary to "open the floodgates" for a wider participation.

In 2019, Norway promoted a round of negotiations between the Bolivarian government and the opposition that took place in Oslo and Barbados. This process, however, failed when the U.S. government increased sanctions against Venezuela instead of removing them.