The real reasons why Nicolás Maduro canceled his trip to Argentina

The “people’s president” backed down and decided at the last minute not to participate in the momentous summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac). It was not just about his triumphant return to South America five years later. Also of the consolidation of his strategy against international isolation since the electoral fraud of 2018.

The outpost that accompanies him on the few presidential trips was already in Buenos Aires Y Lula da Silva I was waiting for you with open arms to formalize the resumption of diplomatic relations, something that could not be carried out in Brasilia because then Nicolas Maduro He also backed down, as verified by his envoy to the oath of Hugo Chávez’s great ally in the creation of Celac in 2010.

LOOK: CELAC Summit LIVE: with the absence of Maduro, but with the presence of Lula, the regional meeting begins in Argentina

A schedule as tight as desired. Maduro himself had insinuated in his television liturgies that he was very excited to return to Argentinaa country where Hugo Chávez starred in one of his stellar moments in 2005 with the train trip to Mar de Plata and the pulverization of the US FTAA project.

“He got scared. With this retreat, it is confirmed that she cannot go where she wants, but where she can, like Russia, Cuba or Algeria ”diplomatic sources assure LA NACIÓN.

The excuse mentioned for the occasion reopened the conspiracy manual, used so many times in the 24 years of Chavismo: a alleged plan of the “neofascist right” whose objective would be to “carry out a series of attacks against our delegation. They intend to put on a deplorable show, in order to disturb the positive effects of such an important regional event, and thus contribute to the discredit campaign, already unsuccessful, that has been undertaken from the North American empire”.

Beyond the propaganda, it is about an outright defeat. What were the real reasons for the retreat? “The pressure that was made within Argentina. The Venezuelan community was very active and the Argentine opposition leadership was also very supportive.. The denunciation of the Argentine Forum for Democracy in the Region as well as that of Patricia Bullrich were fundamental”, the political scientist Walter Molina answers emphatically to LA NACIÓN.

Marches against Maduro in Caracas. (YURI CORTEZ – AFP).

“For Maduro heThe security risks continue to weigh heavily, especially since for him and his circle the fact that a reward from the US authorities is still in force is very sensitive. [15 millones de dólares] for his capture”, remarks the internationalist Mariano de Alba, a senior adviser to the Crisis Group.

“Maduro must be careful because the United States has just announced that it continues to consider him an illegitimate and usurper president, despite the fact that there is no longer an interim government as such,” internationalist María Teresa Romero, who also considers An important factor is the protests from within, which demand his resignation, and from outside the country. “Venezuelan teachers, after a new day of protests, have shown that they have courage,” he adds.

Twenty-four years after the arrest of the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in London, its effects have not dissipated. The most paradoxical thing is that the protagonist of that time, the Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, has now become the defense lawyer of the alleged figurehead of Maduro. One of his jurists is also hired by the president’s son to try to imprison human rights activist Tamara Suju in Madrid.

The decision

Ripe He defoliated the daisy for several days until he made a decision in which the scenario that he was going to find in Buenos Aires has also weighed. “The Venezuelan government knew that it would hardly be a protagonist and several of its counterparts, in private, would let it know that it needed to make concessions so that in 2024 there could be a competitive presidential election, something Maduro is still reluctant to do,” reveals De Sunrise.

“Despite the fact that Colombia, Brazil and Argentina have reestablished relations with Venezuela, that does not mean that they agree with non-democratic mechanisms and with the violation of human rights. The world is not recognizing Maduro and it is a very important issue. In Argentina, the judiciary sentenced its vice president, something unthinkable in Venezuela,” Luis Florido, coordinator of the international commission of the Unitary Platform, clarifies for this newspaper.

Another of those defeated in the Maduro affair is Celac itself, which seeks to resurrect itself supported by the second pink wave. “They were trying to naturalize autocracies in the midst of a wave of repression and at a time when Maduro is seeking normalization with the ‘Venezuela has been fixed’. In addition, Daniel Ortega has paid the cost of being an international pariah. Instead, the Cuban regime shows that it still maintains an influence to be naturalized, being the most extreme case of the three”, concludes the historian Armando Chaguaceda.

Nevertheless, some presidents have breathed a sigh of relief. “The internal situation of the countries is complex and Maduro has a very great discredit for those who want to present themselves as leaders of the democratic left,” Torres adds.

The “people’s president” is also under investigation by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanityamong which torture, extrajudicial executions, rape, arbitrary arrests and forced disappearances stand out.

“This type of questioning will follow them wherever they go. There are international organizations of the UN of enormous credibility that have reported systematic abuses against the population in Nicaragua and Venezuela, which reach the level of crimes against humanity. The big question is that even if Maduro and Ortega do not go, representatives of their governments will go. What are the governments of the region going to do, are they going to look the other way? Will there be a result of Celac where ideologies are put aside and the abuses committed by different governments are questioned?

Source: Elcomercio