Venezuelan presidential crisis

Venezuelan presidential crisis
Part of the crisis in Venezuela
Juan Guaidó (left) and Nicolás Maduro (right)
Date10 January 2019 (2019-01-10) – 5 January 2023 (2023-01-05) (3 years, 11 months and 26 days)
Location
Venezuela
Caused by
Goals
  • End of Maduro's government
  • Transition government
  • Free and fair presidential elections
MethodsProtests, support campaigns, foreign diplomatic pressure and international sanctions
Resulted inStatus quo
  • Seeking a unified front for 2024 elections, opposition parties dissolved Guaidó's interim government in late 2022, stating that it had failed to achieve its goals
  • Maduro sought re-election in the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election
Parties
Lead figures
Crisis in Venezuela
Causes
Effects
Events
Elections
Protests
Timeline
Armed violence
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The Venezuelan presidential crisis was a political crisis concerning the leadership and the legitimate president of Venezuela between 2019 and 2023, with the nation and the world divided in support for Nicolás Maduro or Juan Guaidó.

Venezuela is engulfed in a political and economic crisis which has led to more than seven million people leaving the country since 2015. The process and results of the 2018 presidential elections were widely disputed.[1][2] The opposition-majority National Assembly declared Maduro a usurper of the presidency on the day of his second inauguration and disclosed a plan to set forth its president Guaidó as the succeeding acting president of the country under article 233 of the Venezuelan Constitution.[2][5] A week later, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice declared that the presidency of the National Assembly was the "usurper" of authority and declared the body to be unconstitutional.[2] Minutes after Maduro took the oath as president, the Organization of American States (OAS) approved a resolution in a special session of its Permanent Council declaring Maduro's presidency illegitimate and urging new elections.[6] Special meetings of the OAS on 24 January and in the United Nations Security Council on 26 January were held but no consensus was reached. Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres called for dialogue.[7] During the 49th General Assembly of the Organization of American States on 27 June, Guaidó's presidency was recognized by the organization.[8] Guaidó and the National Assembly declared he was acting president and swore himself in on 23 January.[4]

At his peak, Guaidó was recognized as legitimate by about 60 countries, despite never running as president; Maduro by about 20 countries.[9][10][11] However, Guaidó's international support waned over time.[12] Internationally, support followed geopolitical lines, with Russia, China, Cuba, Iran, Syria, and Turkey supporting Maduro, while the majority of Western and Latin American countries supported Guaidó as acting president.[9][13][14] Support for Guaidó began to decline when a military uprising attempt in April 2019 failed to materialize.[15][16] Following the failed uprising, representatives of Guaidó and Maduro began mediation, with the assistance of the Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution.[17] After the second meeting in Norway, no deal was reached.[18] In July 2019 negotiations started again in Barbados with representatives from both sides.[19][20][21] In September, Guaidó announced the end of dialogue following a forty-day absence by the Maduro government as a protest against the recent sanctions by the United States. In March 2020, the United States proposed a transitional government that would exclude both Maduro and Guaidó from the presidency.[22] U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that sanctions did not apply to humanitarian aid during the coronavirus pandemic health emergency and that the United States would lift all sanctions if Maduro agreed to organize elections that did not include himself.[23] Guaidó accepted the proposal,[24] while Venezuela's foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza, rejected it.[25]

By January 2020, efforts led by Guaidó to create a transitional government had been unsuccessful and Maduro continued to control Venezuela's state institutions.[26][27][28] In January 2021, the European Union stopped recognizing Guaidó as president, but still did not recognize Maduro as the legitimate president;[29] the European Parliament reaffirmed its recognition of Guaidó as president,[30][31] and the EU threatened with further sanctions.[29] After the announcement of regional elections in 2021, Guaidó announced a "national salvation agreement" and proposed the negotiation with Maduro with a schedule for free and fair elections, with international support and observers, in exchange for lifting international sanctions.[32]

In December 2022, three of the four main opposition political parties (Justice First, Democratic Action and A New Era) backed and approved a reform to dissolve the interim government and create a commission of five members to manage foreign assets, as deputies sought a united strategy ahead of the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election,[33][34] stating that the interim government had failed to achieve the goals it had set.[35]

  1. ^ a b Bullock, Penn (10 January 2019). "Climate Change, U.S. Shutdown, Michael Cohen: Your Friday Briefing". New York Times (Online) – via ProQuest. President Nicolás Maduro was inaugurated for a second term after an election last year that was widely considered illegitimate — and despite a plummeting economy and skyrocketing violence, hunger and migration. Also available online.
  2. ^ a b c d e "El Tribunal Supremo de Justicia de Venezuela declara "inconstitucional" a la Asamblea Nacional y anula el nombramiento de Juan Guaidó como su presidente". BBC. 21 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  3. ^ Luhnow, David; Forero, Juan; Córdoba, José de (7 February 2019). "'What the Hell Is Going On?' How a Small Group Seized Control of Venezuela's Opposition". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  4. ^ a b "National Assembly President Juan Guaido swears himself in as President of Venezuela". CNN. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Prensa de la AN rectifica comunicado que proclama a Juan Guaidó Presidente de la República". Efecto Cocuyo. 11 January 2019. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  6. ^ "La OEA aprobó la resolución que declara ilegítimo al nuevo gobierno de Nicolás Maduro" [The OAS approved the resolution that declared the new government of Nicolás Maduro illegitimate]. Infobae (in Spanish). 10 January 2019.
  7. ^ "UN political chief calls for dialogue to ease tensions in Venezuela; Security Council divided over path to end crisis". UN News. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  8. ^ "México, Uruguay, Bolivia y Nicaragua respaldaron al régimen de Maduro e intentaron desplazar al enviado de Guaidó de la Asamblea de la OEA". Infobae (in Spanish). EFE. 27 June 2019. Si se convalidan las credenciales (por las del enviado de Guaidó) se reconoce un nuevo gobierno de Venezuela y Uruguay eso no lo puede aceptar
  9. ^ a b "More dollars and fewer protests in Venezuela". The Economist. 18 December 2019. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 27 December 2019. Most Western and Latin American countries recognise Mr Guaidó's claim
  10. ^ "Troops that revolted against Venezuela's Maduro have fled the country". NBC News. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019. National Assembly President Juan Guaidó, who is recognized as Venezuela's rightful leader by the U.S. and some 60 countries
  11. ^ "Venezuelan gov't, opposition blame each other for blackouts". EFE. Retrieved 27 December 2019. Juan Guaido, acknowledged as interim president of Venezuela by some 60 countries
  12. ^ Lawler, Dave (4 January 2023). "U.S. no longer recognizes Guaidó as Venezuela's president, Biden official confirms". Axios. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  13. ^ Vasilyeva, Nataliya (24 January 2019). "Venezuela crisis: Familiar geopolitical sides take shape". Associated Press. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  14. ^ "Maduro isolated as Latin American nations back Venezuela opposition leader". Reuters. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  15. ^ *Rodríguez, Jesús A (8 May 2019). "We are going to take over the premises". Politico. Retrieved 10 May 2019. In Venezuela, though the number of people who say they recognize Guaidó as the legitimate president has dwindled to about 50 percent since January, his approval remains much stronger than Maduro's abysmal 4 percent.
    • Wyss, Jim (6 May 2019). "As Guaido's popularity in Venezuela begins to dwindle, what's next for the opposition?". Miami Herald. Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019. ... last week's failed military uprising and a spate of violent but fruitless demonstrations have some wondering if Guaido, and the opposition at large, have what it takes to oust Maduro ... A poll released Monday by Caracas-based Meganalisis found that Guaido's approval ratings dropped to 50 percent, down from 84 percent in January. He's still far more popular than Maduro whose approval rating is at 4 percent but the precipitous drop can't be ignored ...
    • Casoni, Giampiero (7 May 2019). "Venezuela, il gradimento di Guaidò cala a picco: meno 34% in soli tre mesi". Ci Siamo (in Italian). Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019. The popularity of Juan Guaidò is in sharp decline and the 'liberator' of Venezuela seems to have exhausted the original propulsive thrust ... At the center of this drop in consensus, especially the failure (because of its failure) of the coup in recent weeks ...
  16. ^ "Trump Weighs More-Muscular Venezuela Moves on Doubts Over Guaido". Bloomberg News. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  17. ^ "Guaidó confirma contactos y anuncia la 'liberación' de Simonovis" (in Spanish). Euronews. 17 May 2019.
  18. ^ "Meeting between envoys for Venezuela's government, opposition ends with no deal". Reuters. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  19. ^ "Oposición y oficialismo retoman negociaciones en Barbados". Voz de América (in Spanish). 9 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  20. ^ "Gobierno de Maduro irá a reunión en Barbados con un "ala rota", según expertos". TalCual (in Spanish). 9 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  21. ^ vuelta -, ALnavío-Noticias de ida y. "Cómo el informe Bachelet presiona las negociaciones de Guaidó y Maduro en Barbados". ALnavío – Noticias de ida y vuelta - (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  22. ^ Faiola, Anthony; Morello, Carol (31 March 2020). "U.S. proposes transitional government for Venezuela, without Maduro or Guaidó". Washington Post. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  23. ^ "Mike Pompeo dijo que EEUU levantará las sanciones a Venezuela si el chavismo acepta ir a elecciones libres" [Mike Pompeo said that the US will lift sanctions against Venezuela if Chavismo agrees to go to free elections]. Infobae Mexico (in Spanish). 31 March 2020.
  24. ^ "Guaidó acepta el gobierno de transición que propone EEUU". Atlántico (in Spanish). 1 April 2020.
  25. ^ "Arreaza rechaza la propuesta de EEUU para una "transición democrática" en Venezuela". Europa Press (in Spanish). 31 March 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  26. ^ "Venezuela: Thousands take to the streets of Caracas for rival protests". Deutsche Welle. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  27. ^ "Venezuela: Rival rallies held as Guaido calls for daily protests". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  28. ^ "'Missed his moment': opposition corruption scandal undermines Venezuela's Guaido". Reuters. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  29. ^ a b Emmott, Robin (6 January 2021). "EU no longer acknowledges Venezuela's Guaido as interim president". Reuters. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  30. ^ "MEPs: Juan Guaidó is the legitimate interim President of Venezuela". European Parliament. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  31. ^ "Juan Guaidó remains legitimate interim president, according to European Parliament". Agence Europe. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  32. ^ "Juan Guaidó abre la puerta a la negociación con Nicolás Maduro al invocar un acuerdo de salvación nacional". El Mundo. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  33. ^ Armas, Mayela (31 December 2022). "Venezuela opposition removes interim President Guaido". Reuters. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  34. ^ Martínez, Deisy (30 December 2022). "AN de 2015 aprueba su extensión por otro año y elimina gobierno interino" [2015 NA approves its extension for one more year and eliminates interim government]. Efecto Cocuyo (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  35. ^ "Mayoría de la AN-2015 ratifica disolución del Gobierno interino". Tal Cual (in Spanish). 30 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022. Hemos tenido algo que pasó de ser provisional a convertirse en algo perpetuo. Y no se celebraron las elecciones, de manera que el artículo 233 perdió su razón de ser para justificar el gobierno interino.