Maduro would be better off negotiating his way out of this mess — MercoPress

Machado: Maduro better off negotiating his way out of trouble

Opposition leader not opposed to offering ‘guarantees and incentives’ to help Maduro make up his mind

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado insisted on Tuesday that President Nicolas Maduro should negotiate his departure with her political group given the growing international implications of the July 28 election.

“If Maduro makes a realistic assessment of his options, he will finally understand that a position based on repression and lies, built on the military high command, is simply unsustainable and that it is in his own interest to negotiate as quickly as possible,” Machado said in an online news conference.

The National Electoral Council (CNE) said on July 28 that Maduro had been re-elected for 2025-2031, but never provided the minutes of each voting sheet to support these allegations. On the other hand, Machado’s United Democratic Platform (PUD) published more than 80% of these documents online to support its claim that Edmundo González Urrutia won.

Protests broke out in the wake of this controversy, with the Maduro regime jailing more than 2,200 demonstrators and renovating two maximum-security prisons for them.

Machado noted that her group was open to “democratic transition” and that the results of the July 28 election were not negotiable. She also ruled out governing together with the Chavistas, but acknowledged that “guarantees and incentives” might be offered.

She also welcomed the diplomatic efforts of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro to break the current impasse. “Ultimately, I think the willingness to at least not close the channels of communication with Brazil, Mexico and Colombia is a good sign,” Machado argued, while explaining that her contact in Bogota was Foreign Minister Luiz Gilberto Murillo, not Petro.

Vedant Patel, deputy spokesman for the US State Department, explained that Murillo spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week and agreed that it was very important to publish detailed election results. The official also said that Washington hopes that the Organization of American States (OAS) can play an important role in resolving the Venezuelan issue. “We hope and want to use the OAS as a tool” to restore democracy. In Blinken’s view, the region should “speak with one voice, including the OAS.” Patel also acknowledged on Tuesday that it was clear that González Urrutia “received the highest number of votes on July 28 and Nicolás Maduro must accept that.”