Electoral timetable demanded by Washington to ease blockade; ‘agreement is a step towards healing wounds’, says government
The electoral agreement signed between the Venezuelan government and the opposition sector called Plataforma Unitaria has made the negotiations between Caracas and Washington more public. On Tuesday evening (17), following the release of the terms agreed by the two parties in Barbados, the US and other allied countries praised the document and called it “a necessary step”.
The European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada joined Washington in the joint statement which expressed support for “a peaceful negotiated exit leading to fair and competitive elections and a return to economic security and stability”.
Together, the three countries and the European bloc determined the sanctions against Venezuela, which directly and indirectly support the Unity Platform and demand conditions from the government of Nicolás Maduro to suspend the blockade.
One of the demands made by Washington was precisely the definition of an electoral timetable and rules agreed by both parties for holding the next presidential elections, which was achieved in the agreement signed on Tuesday in Barbados. The Venezuelan government and opposition agreed that the elections should be held in the second half of 2024.
Neither the agreements signed on Tuesday nor the statement issued by the US and its allies mention the concrete removal of any sanctions against Venezuela. However, according to Brasil de Fato, there are commitments made by Washington to Venezuela regarding the end of sanctions.
A source linked to the dialogue process told Brasil de Fato that the expectation is that “in the next few days some decisions that have already been agreed with them [the US] will be fulfilled”. The announcements would be related to the sanctions and would be “a kind of small but significant relief for Venezuela”.
France
On Wednesday (18), French President Emmanuel Macron also welcomed the agreement signed in Barbados and said that the country supports the deployment of an EU electoral observation mission, an idea agreed by the Venezuelan government and opposition.
“Within the perspective of the 2024 presidential elections in Venezuela, this agreement establishes a roadmap with significant advances towards a free and inclusive ballot, a condition for a lasting exit from the crisis. […] The agreed measures must now be fully implemented and the dialogue between the parties must be maintained,” the Elysée Palace said in a statement.
Since meeting and talking to Maduro for the first time during COP27 in November last year, Macron has tried to mediate the Venezuelan crisis. In the same month of 2022, the president organized a meeting between the heads of the government and opposition delegations in Paris, which was also attended by the presidents of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, and Colombia, Gustavo Petro. In July of this year, the French president took part in a meeting in Belgium attended by both Venezuelan parties and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Direct negotiations
Hours after signing the agreements in Barbados, the Venezuelan government revealed that it has been holding direct negotiations with the US throughout the year to lift the blockade.
“The negotiations were mainly focused on healing the social wounds caused by the illegitimate economic aggression through the full elimination of the criminal ‘sanctions’ that have collectively punished the Venezuelan population without distinction, requested by the same opposition that today is agreeing to begin the process of complete elimination,” Caracas said in a statement.
According to the government, the agreements are “another step towards ending the criminal unilateral coercive measures against our people”.
Since 2014, Venezuela has suffered from sanctions imposed by the US, which have aggravated the economic and political crisis in the country. In 2019, former US President Donald Trump imposed a total blockade on the Venezuelan oil industry that has practically prevented the country’s largest source of dollars from operating on the international market.
According to official data, there are more than 900 sanctions in force against Venezuela and the blockade against the energy sector has caused a 98% reduction in dollar revenues over the last 10 years.