[ad_1]
Venezuelans have lived for almost two years with both actors considering themselves legitimate presidents. However, Maduro is considered a dictator in the West and has been sanctioned, and Guido has recognized the United States and more than 50 countries as the legitimate leaders of the country.
The opposition led by Guido boycotted the December 6 parliamentary elections, during which Maduro’s party regained a strong majority.
VIDEO: Lithuanians have seen the crisis in Venezuela with their own eyes: they have never seen so much poverty and sadness
Brazil, the United States, Canada, the Organization of American States and the European Union refused to acknowledge the results of this vote because it did not meet international standards.
The National Assembly had previously been dominated by the opposition, and its decision to boycott the vote was criticized as a strategic mistake.
Thus, as of Tuesday, Guido will cease to be president of the National Assembly and will lose his previous limited institutional legitimacy, and the foreign governments that support him will find themselves in a difficult position.
“It just came to our knowledge then [valdžios] duality will continue for a long time, ”Benigno Alarcón, director of the Center for Politics and Governance at the Andreso Bell Catholic University in Venezuela, told AFP.
VIDEO: Thousands of people welcomed Juan Guaid as a hero, who returned safely to Venezuela
According to him, N. Maduras “force controls the country” and maintains all state institutions with an iron fist.
This means, among other things, that the president could use the restrictions on COVID-19 as an excuse to ban any protests against his government.
At the same time, Guido is increasingly unable to mobilize opposition forces.
The five-day referendum-like consultations last month, called by Guido to urge Venezuelans to condemn the December 6 elections and the Maduro government, failed to mobilize many opposition supporters involved in the anti-government protests of 2019.
“It is very likely that … Guaidó will become the leader of the opposition in exile,” said Rafael Álvarez, an analyst at the Iuriscorp law firm.
“Uzurpatorius”
On January 23, 2019, Guido declared himself interim president in front of a large crowd, and the opposition-controlled parliament recognized Maduro as a “usurper” who had been fraudulently re-elected during the May 2018 elections.
That decisive step was a turning point in the political crisis in Venezuela, which is going through a recession.
Then there was a new wave of protests against Maduro, and Guido’s popularity had risen to around 80 percent, according to sociological research agencies such as Datanalisis.
But the president refuses to give in to this ongoing showdown.
In December, the opposition-led National Assembly approved a decree that allows it to operate in parallel with the newly established assembly, where Maduro has a majority until new elections are held in 2021.
However, the political scientist Jesús Castillo-Mollendo stressed that this unilateral resolution has no legal basis.
In addition, the measure does not seem to have the support of the majority of society, Alarcón added.
“In Venezuela, everyone knows that this position is more symbolic; that it is not possible to implement it because the institutions are not under control ”, said the expert.
What will Biden do?
In a recent interview with Guaid, AFP said he had no intention of leaving the country despite the threat of prison.
Now all the focus is on Democrat Joe Biden, who will soon take power from current US President Donald Trump. The Republican administration has imposed tough sanctions on Caracas, trying unsuccessfully to force Maduro to resign.
“We can see different crisis management strategies without giving up the pressure,” analyst R. Alvarez described Biden’s likely position.
[ad_2]
