Venezuela Opposition Challenges Govt. Dialogue Plan
Venezuela's government Monday proposed talks to ease the country's political crisis after Pope Francis intervened, but an opposition leader branded it a ploy by President Nicolas Maduro to cling to power.
The move had aimed to calm tensions after the opposition accused the socialist president of staging a "coup d'etat" by blocking its bid for a vote on removing him.
But the opposition said Maduro had jumped the gun by announcing the talks before terms had been agreed. One leader accused him of taking advantage of the pope's "good faith."
Months of tension that have included riots and looting threatened to boil over after authorities enraged the opposition last week by annulling its drive for a recall referendum.
- 'What dialogue?' -
Maduro had a private audience with the pope at the Vatican on Monday. He said afterwards that Francis had supported the opening of a "formal dialogue" between government and opposition.
Papal envoy Emil Paul Tscherrig said separately in Caracas that both sides had launched a "national dialogue."
He said they aimed to formally open talks on October 30 on the Venezuelan island of Margarita.
The opposition MUD coalition later insisted it had not agreed to those terms, though it welcomed the Vatican's efforts to help.
"What dialogue? No dialogue has been started in Venezuela," said Henrique Capriles, a senior MUD figure, in an address broadcast online.
Maduro's side "is trying to use Pope Francis's good faith and the good faith of the Vatican envoy... to say: nothing has gone wrong here," he alleged.
"Rest assured the opposition will never go along with that."
- Opposition's conditions -
The MUD said in a statement separately that it would only enter talks if the government respected the right to a referendum and freed political prisoners, among other demands.
Maduro has repeatedly refused to allow a referendum.
The MUD statement also said any talks should take place in the capital Caracas, "in the public eye."
"A meeting in Margarita was never up for discussion," said Capriles. "I heard about it on television."
The opposition members who hold a majority in the legislature had vowed to debate on Tuesday whether to mount a "political trial" against the president.
They also vowed massive nationwide street protests on Wednesday.
- Rising tension -
Analysts have warned of an increased risk of violent unrest in Venezuela. Clashes at anti-government protests in 2014 left 43 people dead.
On Monday a students' group said 27 people were injured in clashes with police at an anti-government protest in the western city of San Cristobal.
The local state governor Jose Vielma Mora said the students had been "violent" and blocked streets.
- Opposition blasts 'dictatorship' -
The opposition had earlier vowed to fight what it called Maduro's "dictatorship."
They accuse Maduro of driving Venezuela, once a booming oil giant, to the brink of collapse.
"Only dictatorships strip their citizens of their rights," opposition spokesman Jesus Torrealba said Monday.
Hit by the fall of global oil prices, Venezuela's economy has crashed, sparking protests and looting due to shortages of food, medicine and basic goods.
International non-government group Human Rights Watch says Venezuela is in a "profound humanitarian crisis."
Maduro calls the economic crisis a capitalist conspiracy.
In recession since the beginning of 2014, Venezuela's economy is facing a contraction of 10 percent this year and inflation of 475 percent, rising to 1,660 percent next year, the IMF forecasts.
Maduro's public support has crumbled. A recent poll found more than 75 percent of Venezuelans disapprove of him.
Source: Agence France Presse
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