“We await that deposit to continue the talks, so that they are valid,” he said in his annual message to Parliament.
Although Guaidó and the opposition have seen their popularity erode, columnist Pedro Benítez, a professor at the Central University of Venezuela (UCV), estimates that “beyond disputes” in the opposition “there are elements to think that there is a majority sector.” of the population “wants a change”.
“The possibility of defeating Maduro exists. Now, how to put together that strategy? That is the great drama,” he says.
This is a position shared by Juan Guaidó himself, who assures that only with a reunited opposition is it possible to defeat Maduro in the elections.
“The problem we have today is to reunify the democratic alternative. Once the democratic alternative is reunited, Maduro is 100% defeatable,” Guaidó said in an interview with the AFP agency.
Guaidó advocates primary elections planned for this year as a “mechanism” to regroup the opponents of the socialist president. There is no date yet, but he hopes they will materialize in “the first semester”.
“There is a process of rebuilding, reconstruction (…), I think we also have the opportunity around the corner, which is the primary,” said the 39-year-old leader.
Guaidó avoided confirming the option of running as a candidate: “My candidate is the union. My candidate, then, is the primary and when we have primaries, when we have a schedule, I will make a decision.”
The bulk of the same opposition has said that it will participate in the new elections and announced an agreement a few months ago to elect a unitary candidate in primaries.
“For us it is the only way to rebuild the path of unity,” said López, who maintains that other leaders such as former presidential candidates Henrique Capriles and Manuel Rosales, today governor of the oil state of Zulia (west), are trying to stop the process in favor of choosing by consensus the adversary of Maduro.
“We are not going to support any consensus candidacy,” said López, who denied having the intention of being a candidate in 2024.
In his statement, PJ confirmed his intention to participate in the primaries.
With information from AFP