CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s opposition legislature voted on Friday to end the interim government, ending the leadership of Juan Guaidó, who for many years has been the face of opposition to the authoritarian government of the country.
The vote is a blow to the United States, which has steadfastly supported Mr. Guaidó. It This is the second and last vote of this month to decide the fate of the interim government, whose influence has waned in recent years when President Nicolás Maduro took power, Mr. Guaidó failed to consolidate popular support and the opposition cracked.
The decision made it clear that members of the opposition lost faith Guaidó’s ability to achieve their goals — overthrowing Mr. Maduro’s authoritarian government and restoring democracy — and that they aim to pursue a different strategy.
With 72 votes in favor, 29 against and 8 abstentions, lawmakers proposed ending Guaidó’s interim presidency from January 4.
Juan Miguel Matheus, representative of the Primero Justicia party, said: “Everything we are doing is aimed at laying the foundation for a new phase of a more effective democratic struggle. He said the decision had “the ultimate goal of defeating Maduro as soon as possible.”
Venezuela has been mired in economic, political and humanitarian crisis since 2014, when a government that declared socialist ideals gutted the country’s democratic institutions and left much of the population homeless. poor. Seven million people, a quarter of the population, have fled abroad in recent years, with a growing number towards the United States.
Mr. Guaidó, 39, a student activist turned legislator, take the helm of the country’s legislature in 2019, when it was the last major organization in the country controlled by the opposition. Amid large-scale protests against the Maduro government, he invoked a provisions of the Constitution transfer of power to the head of the National Assembly if the presidency is vacant. He declared Mr. Maduro the illegitimate ruler and appointed himself interim leader of the country.
The bold move was supported by the United States and dozens of other countries, and he soon garnered support from the Venezuelan people, providing a glimmer of hope. to a country crushed by repression and the collapse of the economy.
On Thursday, in his final call for reconciliation, Mr. Guaidó proposed that Congress instead of dissolving the body entirely, appoint a new president to head the interim government.
“Defend the institution, the Constitution and the country in name or personal interest,” Guaidó wrote on Twitter.
But three other political parties achieved the majority needed to ratify the decision to remove the parallel government.
In Friday’s vote, some lawmakers voiced opposition to the decision, saying it could put the country’s economic assets at risk of falling into the hands of Mr. Maduro’s government.
“This is shameful,” said Freddy Guevara, a representative of the Voluntary Popular Party, who said the measure would strengthen Mr. Maduro. “I can’t understand how we are doing this suicide.”
Mr. Guaidó called it “a leap into the void.”
“Who will take over the power vacuum?” he asks. “Who will be responsible?”
Mr. Guaidó’s strength is tied to his international diplomatic recognition, but the Americans sanctions designed to aid him gutting government revenue and forcing Venezuelans to focus on day-to-day survival, not political advocacy. And his efforts to promote a military uprising eventually consolidated 60-year-old Mr. Maduro’s control over the armed forces.
The United States has continued to refer to Mr. Guaidó as the country’s interim president, even as other countries have renounced that recognition. has begun to thaw with the Maduro governmentand the administrations of several new leftist governments in South America have begun to take a softer approach to Mr. Maduro.
Over the past few years, the Venezuelan opposition has succeeded in getting Mr. Maduro to agree to a political dialogue, which is expected to resume next month in Mexico after more than a year of stagnation. As part of those negotiations, Mr. Maduro agreed to allow some of Venezuela’s funds frozen abroad to be used as humanitarian aid to help alleviate hunger and other problems the country faces. are facing.
Opposition leaders are also pushing for him to allow free and fair conditions for the presidential election scheduled for 2024.
Isayen Herrera reports from Caracas, Venezuela, and Genevieve Glatsky from Philadelphia.
