Venezuela's Maduro meets opposition at
Vatican-led talks
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[October 31, 2016]
By Andrew Cawthorne and Andreina Aponte
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's unpopular
socialist leader Nicolas Maduro shook hands with opposition leaders at
Vatican-convened talks on Sunday, but his wary foes threatened to
boycott further meetings if some demands were not quickly met.
The irate opposition Democratic Unity coalition has escalated protests
against Maduro after authorities scuttled a recall referendum that polls
show he would have lost, triggering a presidential election.
Their top demand is to revive the plebiscite.
Opponents say 17 years of socialism have wrecked the OPEC nation's
economy and crushed democracy, while the government says a U.S.-backed
elite is seeking a violent coup.
Maduro, 53, who won election to succeed Hugo Chavez in 2013, arrived
mid-evening for the meeting at a Caracas museum.
He cordially greeted the five opposition leaders, including coalition
secretary-general Jesus Torrealba and opposition governor Henri Falcon.
Also attending were a Vatican envoy, representatives of the Unasur
regional bloc, and three former heads of state or government from Spain,
Panama and the Dominican Republic.
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"The Pope is following the situation of this country very closely and
hopes this process can continue peacefully," said papal envoy Archbishop
Claudio Maria Celli.
Venezuela's opposition is also demanding freedom for political
prisoners, humanitarian aid amid an unprecedented economic downturn, and
respect for the opposition-led National Assembly.
The opposition delegation would "demand an end to the repression and
persecution of democrats and the people, and will walk away from the
dialogue if the demands are not resolved in the short term," the
coalition said in a statement.
It termed the talks an "exploratory meeting" only.
'NO ALTERNATIVE TO DIALOGUE'
Maduro, who aides said had skipped Saturday's Ibero-American summit in
Colombia to prepare for Sunday's meeting, only stayed for a few minutes.
"There is no alternative to dialogue and meeting in search of the
nation's common interests," he said, before walking to the opposition
delegation for formal handshakes in a ceremony televised live across
Venezuela.
He has distanced himself from the quashing of the referendum, saying it
was a decision of independent judicial and electoral authorities based
on allegations of fraud in an initial opposition signature drive.
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![](../images/103116pics/news_r34.jpg)
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro (centre L) greets former
president of Dominican Republic Leonel Fernandez (Centre R) as he
arrives for a political meeting between government and opposition,
in Caracas, Venezuela October 30, 2016. REUTERS/Marco Bello
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Those institutions have for years leant towards the government,
however, and many Venezuelans believe it was a coordinated ploy to
outwit the opposition.
In advance, some opposition leaders had been skeptical about talks,
saying Maduro had become a dictator by denying a vote and was only
promoting dialogue to buy time.
The hardline opposition Popular Will party of jailed protest leader
Leopoldo Lopez abstained from the talks.
"We have always believed in dialogue ... but there has been no sign
of rectification by the regime," it said.
Previous sit-downs between the two sides in recent years eased some
tensions in the streets, but did little for real rapprochement or
progress on core issues.
Senior Socialist Party official Jorge Rodriguez, who was at Sunday's
talks, said the government hoped to persuade its foes to renounce
street violence and reject neo-liberal economics like those being
applied in Argentina and Brazil.
A swing to the right in South America has left Maduro more isolated,
though he still counts on friends in leftist-led countries from Cuba
to Bolivia.
Sunday's meeting followed massive opposition marches last week,
which led to scores of injuries and arrests plus the death of a
policeman, and a partially-successful national strike.
This week, the opposition is planning a march on the Miraflores
presidential palace, drawing government accusations it wants to
reprise a short-lived 2002 coup against Chavez.
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Maduro's predecessor, who died of cancer after a 14-year rule,
allowed and won a recall referendum in 2004.
(Additional reporting by Daniel Kai, Efrain Otero; Editing by Peter
Cooney and Mary Milliken)
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