On Sunday, pro-Maduro legislators took siege of Venezuela’s National Assembly, and elected dissident opposition lawmaker Luis Parra—who is being investigated by the opposition for corruption—as speaker of the body. The election was held despite not having enough lawmakers for a quorum. Outside the Assembly, opposition lawmakers were barred from entering by a military blockade sent by President Nicolás Maduro. With the legislative body set to elect a new speaker, and opposition leader Juan Guaidó’s designation as interim president resting on him being speaker of the National Assembly, Maduro sought to place an ally at its head.
On Tuesday, following Sunday’s parliamentary takeover, Guaidó reclaimed control of the body, the last democratic institution in the country. During the day’s session, Guaidó and the opposition-led Assembly rejected the “illegal takeover” and ratified Guaidó’s new term as speaker.
Juan Guaidó rose to fame in January 2019 when, after being elected speaker of the National Assembly, he invoked Article 233 of the constitution, legally granting him the Venezuelan interim presidency. Guaidó quickly won the support of the United States and over 50 countries across the globe. Since then, the U.S. policy toward Venezuela has centered around Guaidó’s claim to the presidency, as well as economic sanctions on Maduro’s close circle to weaken his power and influence.
But a year later, Maduro remains in power. Guaidó’s efforts to persuade the military to turn against Maduro and bring in humanitarian aid into the country failed to shake up the regime. TheU.S.’s attempts to bring down Maduro, including the promise of amnesty, have also failed. This in part because, as Andrés Cañizález writes, “the administration of President Donald Trump has no coherent policy to propitiate the democratic transition in Venezuela, and even less, the ability to cooperate with other countries, like its neighbor Canada, to find a solution.”
For the time being, Venezuela’s opposition has once again united behind Guaidó. But with two competing speakers, Venezuelans fleeing the country by the thousands every day, and Maduro’s regime seemingly ready to use the legislature to look for new funding—through the legalization of new investments by companies from allied countries, like Russia—a solution to Venezuela’s humanitarian and economic crises and a democratic transition of power don’t seem to be happening any time soon.
