President of Venezuela's parliament Jorge Rodríguez pushed for dialogue with opposition, inclusion of new parties. File photo.
The president of Venezuela’s National Assembly (AN), Jorge Rodríguez, highlighted the importance of including other opposing political actors in the dialogue process, a gesture which was clearly a reference to the Democratic Alliance and Fuerza Vecinal [Neighborhood Force] parties.
During a press conference at Venezuela’s Legislative Palace, Jorge Rodríguez stressed that when the government speaks of dialogue or of the necessity of different perspectives convening to share their proposals, it must include the political forces who were supported during the elections of November 21.
“As it happens, other opposition forces are emerging that differ clearly from the extremism of MUD,” Rodríguez said. “Those groups are Fuerza Vecinal, LAPIZ, Democratic Alliance, and those factions which, being traditional parties such as Democratic Action and COPEI… are characterized by seeking peace and being apposed to extremism.” Furthermore, he noted that the opposition panorama has clearly changed, with Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) out of the picture.
Rodríguez explained that the new opposition organizations which emerged effectively displaced MUD in many regions.
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“MUD, as such, no longer exists, and the data is there. The CNE let them participate, and look at the results, with the two governorships,” Rodríguez remarked, referring to the states of Cojedes and Zulia.
The president of the AN emphasized that the election was most damaging for those opposition governors who had won in 2017, a reference to Alfredo Díaz in Nueva Esparta, Antonio Barreto Sira in Anzoátegui, Ramón Guevara in Mérida, and Leidy Gómez in Táchira. All of these MUD-affiliated politicians lost their governorships in 2021.
Election tallies
Rodríguez spoke of the numbers provided by the Electoral Power regarding the elections, which indicated that 42.26% of voters participated, or slightly more than eight million Venezuelans.
On this subject he mentioned that, during his interactions with the international election overseers, he was struck by the general lack of mishaps unfortunate incidents.
Featured image: President of Venezuela’s parliament Jorge Rodríguez pushed for dialogue with opposition, inclusion of new parties. File photo.
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/KW/SL
