With 72 votes for, 29 against and 8 abstentions, Juan Guaidó was removed from the interim presidency of Venezuela, who took office on January 23, 2019.
After intense discussion, disagreements and struggles, the decision eliminated the interim government but keeps the National Assembly elected in 2015 and whose constitutional period ended in 2020.
Through the modification of the Transitional Statute, prepared at the end of 2018 to give legality to the provisional figure, the opponents have decided to put an end to this mechanism which until now has been practically only supported by the United States.
The majority of the opposition insisted that “the interim did not achieve its objectives” but this parliament must be maintained to “protect” assets abroad and continue to “fight” against chavismo.
In an online session, chaired by Juan Guaidó, those who supported him to continue to lead Parliament and the interim administration assured that the decision to end the presidency in charge was a sign of opposition divided which affected the possible victory of the presidential elections of 2024.
(Also read: Guaidó, on the tightrope: why does the opposition demand the abolition of the interim presidency?)
Juan Miguel Matheus, deputy of the Primero Justicia (PJ) party who, along with Acción Democrática and Un Nuevo Tiempo (UNT), called for the abolition of the interim, assured that it was not a question of abolishing Guaidó, since “in a generous every January 5, he gave us the vote generously”, but “it is not right that he should be placed as a victim and the parties as executioners”.
Opposition leader Juan Guaidó calls for unity to confront chavismo
Matheus was one of the creators of the Transitional Statute, which gave the possibility of protecting assets abroad and giving legality to the figure of Guaidó based on Article 233 of the Constitution.
“It is not true that the caretaker government exists in the Constitution,” Matheus stressed. “Precisely because it does not exist in the Constitution, we started working on the Transitional Statute.”
Now, one of the concerns expressed by Guaidó and the 29 deputies who voted against the removal of the interim period is the protection of assets abroad, particularly in the United States, England and Portugal.
It would be vital to prevent the dictator from being recognized
“Assets are leaving the safe zone and entering the risk zone,” Macario González, a deputy from the Voluntad Popular party, said during the session.
However, those who approved the abolition of the interim insist that the assets be protected since the National Assembly maintains protection through a commission for the protection of assets.
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“The administration of property falls to the Assembly, creating a parliamentary government contrary to the republican tradition. This assembly would control itself,” said Francisco Sucre, a representative of Voluntad Popular.
With the end of the interim period, the functions of the ambassadors appointed by Guaidó abroad also cease, an aspect that was questioned by the deputy Mariela Magallanes, now in exile.
The rise and fall of Guaidó
The struggle for political power in Venezuela has left only one winner over the past 20 years: Chavism. The opposition in this country has tried in many ways to displace from the Miraflores Palace the political force that has emerged since the arrival of Hugo Chávez in 1999, but when time seemed to work in favor of the adversaries, circumstances ended up consolidating the so-called Bolivarian Revolution.
(Can read: Maduro calls for all sanctions to be lifted in exchange for ‘free elections’)
In 2019, a year of economic crisis that included the break in food and medicine, the Venezuelans that apostaban has gone through a change, and in medio del conflicto político, a new figure and desconocida arose to revive the protests and the capital from the country. Juan Guaidó has become Nicolás Maduro’s biggest rival.
The goal of the interim was to remove Nicolás Maduro from power
On January 5, 2019, the National Assembly elected in 2015 (one of the most significant achievements of the opposition) announced that Guaidó, a deputy from the Voluntad Popular party, founded by Leopoldo López, would assume the presidency of parliament. At that time, in the corridors of the legislative palace, opinions were divided as to the designation which would be submitted to the plenary, since the young man, in addition to being little known, was not everyone’s favorite.
The legislature had already declared the presidential seat vacant in Miraflores, ignoring the 2018 elections in which Maduro won a new term. The columns and halls of the palace designed by Luciano Urdaneta, son of the hero Rafael Urdaneta, it was heard that the idea was to replace Maduro with the speaker of parliament, in accordance with article 233 of the Constitution.
A) Yes, Guaidó began to gain prominence and citizens began to repeat his name. Since the 2017 protests, the opposition has remained silent. But it felt like waking up.
With several demonstrations, an activation of international pressure against Maduro and his government, advisers behind Guaidó, journalists and private photographers, scenes and the promise of change, a slogan emerged which quickly became the slogan “stop the usurpation, transitional government and free elections”, an offer that has won over thousands of Venezuelans.
Juan Guaidó was sworn in as president in charge of Venezuela on January 23.
So happened January 23, 2019. Thousands of people again took to the streets of Caracas and parts of the country. On Francisco de Mirada Avenue in the municipality of Chacao, a large stage occupied almost the entire width of the road. There, after noon, the deputies arrived, then Guaidó.
officially sworn in as interim president of Venezuela
“Today, January 23, I officially take the oath as interim president of Venezuela,” Guaidó said in front of the thousands of people who symbolically took the oath with him, shouting with emotion. Alongside the hitherto deputy, the faces of Stalin González and Édgar Zambrano, vice-presidents of parliament, are surprised by what seems to be a well-kept secret.
“Nobody in the team knew until then. We understand that he was consulted with the United States, all within hours,” he said in a manner. in private at EL TIEMPO a member of Guaidó’s team.
Immediately after Guaidó was sworn in, the United States recognized the “new president”, followed by countries such as Colombia, Canada, Argentina and around 50 others. This led to the expulsion of the United States Embassy in Caracas and the withdrawal of the Colombian diplomatic delegation.
On April 30, the so-called Operation Freedom arrived. At 5 a.m., Guaidó appeared on social media in a video with Leopoldo López, who was imprisoned in his house. They claimed it was the day of the change of government.
Guaidó was in a box in the US lower house reserved for Trump’s guests.
The soldiers guarding the parliament were those who appeared with López and Guaidó. Around the La Carlota military base, they were waiting with their weapons and a few baskets of bananas. Supposedly on that day, the military high command would cooperate and hand over Maduro. None of this happened.
“The Bolivarian National Armed Forces is an institution of the Venezuelan state that demands a respectful approach that allows us to build networks of trust that encourage political change. The boss and the blunders – like what happened in Cúcuta and on April 30 – took us away from the National Armed Forces,” Julio Borges wrote in his latest book, titled “The country that comes”.
This April 30, hundreds of people went to La Carlota, many discovered the news while going to work. Others shouted from their vehicles. As the hours passed, some asked to go to Miraflores. But shortly after noon, Guaidó and Leopoldo withdrew from the rally.
Given Guaidó’s opportunity, and the goal of democratic change for Venezuela not having been achieved, we are now entering a new chapter.
“Given Guaidó’s opportunity and the goal of democratic change for Venezuela not having been achieved, we are now entering a new chapter. An unprecedented chapter in our struggle for freedom,” says Borges, who was foreign minister in that interim government led by Guaidó and who managed to appoint ambassadors to more than 10 countries, including Colombia and the United States. United.
Borges believes that the fact that this “government” manages a budget, maintains the wage bill “and the use of money as a mechanism of power, has penetrated the opposition to this day. This measure has distorted the practice of politics, commercialized activism and weakened us. We have lost the north.”
And during Friday’s session, Julio Borges, as a deputy from the Primero Justicia party, ratified his idea of ending the interim, voting in favor, as did all his party colleagues.
“He should have disappeared a long time ago,” a former parliamentarian who helped build the interim government told EL TIEMPO but preferred not to reveal his name.
“In practice, what has been seen is the nation’s public money dancing in the hands of people who have never given an answer on what the nation’s reais have been invested in,” says political scientist Rommer Ytriago, who insists he is not about to judge but to see what happened.
The next stage of this Assembly is January 5 when the period is extended for another new year and a new Board of Directors is elected on that day. So far, it is not proposed that Guaidó appear.
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ANA RODRIGUEZ BRAZON
TIME CORRESPONDENT
CARACAS
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