The Venezuelan opposition puts an end to the "interim government" of Juan Guaidó

Juan Guaidó, during an appearance. MIGUEL GUTIÉRREZ (EFE)

The Venezuelan opposition voted this Friday to eliminate the so-called "interim government" headed by Juan Guaidó.

After almost four years, this scaffolding created by the anti-Chavista forces in parallel to the Executive of Nicolás Maduro, has been dissolved by the will of the majority of the opposition forces that make up the opposition National Assembly.

With a total of 72 votes in favor, 29 against and eight abstentions, Primero Justicia, Acción Democrática and Un Nuevo Tiempo decided to turn the page.

The purpose is to give way to a new strategy that facilitates a political transition and the holding of elections with guarantees.

The debate surrounding the end of the so-called "interim presidency" aggravated internal clashes.

The accumulated tensions between some sectors of the opposition provoked a harsh struggle that has fueled even more collective disenchantment while the differences in criteria and the crossing of signals on social networks have reached academic sectors and civil society.

What happened in the days before the vote is an example of this: while Guaidó sought to postpone the vote, the forces of the so-called G-3 insisted on resolving this conflict before the end of the year.

The internal balances had been, in any case, established in a discussion, four days ago, on the reform of the so-called Transition Statute.

The procedure that launched the end of Guaidó's role had been approved with 72 votes in favor, 23 against, and 9 abstentions.

“The interim government is not the raison d'être of the democratic struggle,” said Alfonso Marquina, from Primero Justicia, who in a press conference argued that the political time for this initiative had already passed.

“It was a necessary instrument at the time.

Today we are in another reality.

We will appoint a commission for the protection of all the nation's assets abroad."

In inferior votes compared to its former allies: Voluntad Popular, Guaidó's party founded by Leopoldo López, accompanied by some minor formations such as Causa Radical and the July 16 Fraction, has been maneuvering for days to try to persuade public opinion about the inconvenience to dissolve the so-called “Interim Presidency”.

In this context, concerned about the negative effects of the discussion, Juan Pablo Guanipa, from Primero Justicia, and Delsa Solórzano, from Encuentro Ciudadano, had proposed deferring the convening of the parliamentary session in order to seek a consensual solution.

Guaidó accepted the proposal as good and decreed the postponement of parliamentary sessions.

However, the parties of the so-called G3 that promote the initiative refused to postpone the debate and warned Guaidó that if he does not do so, they will convene him at their own expense to finish approving the cessation of his functions.

After receiving an avalanche of criticism in recent months, the "Interim Government" led by Guaidó received important statements of support in the last hours.

The Constitutional Bloc, a civic platform to which some of the most prominent jurists in the country belong, issued a statement warning of "the serious institutional, political, economic and social consequences" that this measure would entail.

The Center for Political and Government Studies of the Andrés Bello Catholic University also ruled in favor of Guaidó's continuity, urging opposition politicians to reconsider their initiative.

“Although the interim government did not achieve the proposed objectives, its disappearance diminishes the possibilities of the negotiations in Mexico and weakens the primary election process.

If the primaries crack, the definition of a candidate for 2024 would be promoted through consensus, an option that will have less support from the voters.

The statement from the center of the Catholic University indicates that "the proposal promoted by opposition parties not only seeks the repeal of the figure of the president in charge (article 233 of the Constitution), but that the function of government falls entirely on the National Assembly, that is to say, a parliamentary government is established, which does not respond to our republican tradition and which would be attributing powers outside the limits of the Constitution.”

For the jurist Allan Brewer Carías, "if the National Assembly approves the reform and unconstitutionally assumes the functions of the Interim Government, apart from causing a monumental managerial chaos with a supposed parallel and unconstitutional collegiate administration, said usurpation does not affect the status of president in charge and , as such usurpation, could result without having any legal effect, especially in the international arena.”

These approaches in defense of Guaidó and Voluntad Popular have not, however, modified the intention of the majority of the opposition forces to leave the "Guaidó era" behind.

On Thursday afternoon there was another hypothesis, that of Guaidó making the position available to him soon and preparing to continue his efforts as a presidential candidate for the opposition primaries.

In a video recording, the politician proposed to his colleagues that they name other actors, but that they not end the institution.

"Unfortunately, at this time, the intention to eliminate the institutional support of what has been the great stone in the shoe of the Maduro dictatorship, which is the Interim Presidency, persists," said Guaidó.

“The parliamentary majority of Acción Democrática, Primero Justicia and Un Nuevo Tiempo has the possibility of defending constitutional jurisdiction.

But the powers of this body cannot be evaded.

We must not destroy this tool for the fight for democracy that has cost us so much to create, ”he said.

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