Maduro appeared in a televised interview today on Jose Rangel Hoy, a Sunday show hosted by Jose Vicente Rangel. During the show, Maduro spoke on a variety of topics, including the dollarization of the Venezuelan economy, of which he spoke favourably.
Given the collapse of the economy, Venezuelans have increasingly turned to using US dollars for everyday purchases, with the phenomenon being particularly noticeable in Caracas. On this dollarization, Maduro said:
It’s a pressure valve. Thank God that it exists (…) this might be a sin for the people who control dogma, but I don’t see it as a bad thing. I declare myself a sinner.
Maduro’s comments raised eyebrows among commentators and observers, given chavismo‘s history of restricting access to US dollars via byzantine, strictly-controlled currency exchange systems.
Maduro attempted to downplay the fact that the Venezuelan economy is experiencing this phenomenon, saying:
Every economy in the world is dollarized… [this] auto-regulation is necessary for an economy that refuses to surrender.
Guaido: No More Negotiations with Maduro
Guaido spoke today on the idea of returning to the negotiating table with the Maduro regime in the future, discounting it as a possibility out-of-hand.
Referencing the failed Norwegian-mediated talks, Guaido said:
Three months ago, the negotiations died. They [the PSUV] killed them. They ran away [from the table].
Earlier this year, the government of Norway brokered a set of talks that brought together high-level representatives from the PSUV and the opposition. However, the effort came to an end in September after negotiators from the Maduro regime walked away from the talks.
Guaido explained that, to him, the path towards a negotiated settlement had been “killed” by the regime, and that as a result,
… Venezuela’s option is to protest, to exercise citizenship.
Just yesterday, Maduro said in televised comments that the Norway talks could resume, that that negotiators from both sides had “traveled to Europe” to explore the possibility. Guaido denied Maduro’s comments, saying that he made them only to “confuse” Venezuelans.
Questions/Comments? E-mail me: invenezuelablog@gmail.com
In Venezuela 