Venezuela’s Interim President: Juan Guaidó

After a week of deadly protests demanding the end of Maduro’s government in Venezuela, the opposition leader Juan Guaidó was officially recognized by the U.S. government as Venezuela’s interim president. Not long after the announcement, Canada as well as other Western countries also announced their support for Guaidó’s presidency and expressed that they are looking forward to seeing Guaidó’s commitment to lead Venezuela to free and fair presidential elections. On February 4, the European Union made the decision to join the U.S. and Canada after Maduro failed to announce new, fair elections.

The tension between the Maduro regime and Guaidó’s opposition forces has caused people in many other countries to take sides, with some claiming that Guaidó is a puppet of the U.S. government, seeking to install their own leadership in the oil-rich country with a thinly disguised coup. However, Venezuelans from both the traditionally conservative opposition and former supporters of the late socialist president Hugo Chávez have voiced objections to this interpretation of the events unfolding in their home. While it’s true that the U.S. has a poor record of heavy-handed intervention in Latin American governments, it’s also clear that Venezuelans of all political stripes are desperate for change. Alex Trivella, a Venezuelan student who currently studies at Stanford University, has outlined the events currently happening in Venezuela from a Venezuelan citizen’s perspective.

Venezuela’s ruling Socialist Party has lost the support of the Venezuelan people (approval rating less than 20%) due to the continued hyperinflation and the government’s inability to provide economic stability. In December 2015 Venezuela had parliamentary elections, electing an Opposition-majority National Assembly. However, President Maduro has determined to remain in power despite his inability to win future elections, illegally calling for a government controlled Constituent National Assembly in 2017.

In response, the opposition-held National Assembly has refused to appoint Maduro as the president and continues to operate laws that are ignored by the government. This has impeded Maduro’s government from having an extensive diplomacy as Maduro’s administration will not technically be treated as Venezuelan government officials.

During the May presidential election, Maduro’s government barred all viable opposition candidates from participating in the election in order to guarantee Maduro’s continued power. January 10 was the last official day of Maduro’s presidential term. However, the government-controlled Supreme Court re-inaugurated Maduro as president.

As president Maduro was unconstitutionally re-elected as the president, this means that there is currently no official president of Venezuela. According to the Venezuelan Constitution, in the event when the presidency is vacant, the president of the National Assembly will serve as interim president until new elections are held. As a result, Juan Guaidó was recently chosen as president of the National Assembly, and this means that Guaidó will officially take office as the interim president of Venezuela. Along with the U.S, Canada, as well as many other Western nations, have officially recognized Guaidó as the temporary president of Venezuela.

With Guaidó being elected as the President, more and more Venezuelan citizens are urging Maduro to relinquish his presidency and to restore the wealthy Venezuelan economy. “Today’s protests are not only a show of support for President Guaidó; they are also a clamor for the freedom that Venezuelans have never stopped fighting for”, said Alex.

For more information, please visit Alex Trivella’s Facebook Post,or read his article in the Standford Daily (linked above).