Juan Guaido spoke on a variety of topics to a crowd of supporters in Barquisimeto, Lara state this afternoon, chief among them the ongoing talks between the opposition and the ruling PSUV party in Oslo, Norway.
The talks have quickly become a highly contentious issue for opposition supporters, given the relatively common belief that the government is only looking to buy time with the talks and is not actually interested in negotiating a solution to the crisis.
Many opposition supporters point to all of the rounds of negotiation that have taken place with Maduro in office, and the fact that they have yielded any concrete results.
In his speech, Guaido addressed the talks by arguing that they were not like previous attempts at negotiating with the PSUV. Guaido said:
We have to use the correct words when we talk about [what’s happening in] Norway. We can’t use the regime’s narrative. This is an invitation to mediation on behalf of Norway. In other words, this is neither a negotiation nor a dialogue.
Guaido also stressed that the point of that process should be to secure a change in government through free and fair elections.
Stressing that he would not lead the opposition into another dialogue with Maduro unless he was convinced it would lead to results, Guaido said:
It’s evident that we are not depending on or believing the words of a murderous dictator… The strategy is clear. The international community is with us… Norway’s invitation follows [the work of] the Contact Group, the Lima Group, the United States, Canada, Israel, Japan, and South Korea…
Below, images from Guaido’s rally in Barquisimeto, Lara state today:
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