Venezuela Opposition Eases Off Maduro Ahead Of Talks

CARACAS, Nov 2 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 02nd Nov, 2016 ) : Venezuela's opposition on Tuesday suspended a "trial" by lawmakers and a planned march against unpopular President Nicolas Maduro, ahead of talks next week aimed at easing their country's deep crisis.

The decision, adopted by the opposition-dominated National Assembly, to put off its proceedings against Maduro on charges he was derelict in his constitutional duties was not "capitulation," speaker Henry Ramos Allup said.

Instead, it was a sign of the opposition's desire to seek a solution to the crisis through the talks with the government that are to begin November 11, he said. He added that an opposition march on Maduro's presidential palace that had been planned for Thursday would likewise be postponed.

Analysts had called the "trial" of Maduro by the lawmakers symbolic at best, as the constitution does not allow for such a process against the president. Maduro himself had dismissed the effort as invalid and an attempt to overthrow his government, and vowed to throw participants in jail.

- Opposition members freed - ============================ The opposition moves to relieve its pressure on Maduro were an indication it saw the negotiations as the best option, rather than testing its ability to rally the public to its side.

Surveys show Venezuelans' antipathy to Maduro is over 75 percent. But their focus these days is more on lining up for basic goods than turning out en masse in the street to demand change. They are struggling with a chronic scarcity of food and runaway inflation.

Maduro's government has also made gestures ahead of the negotiations, which were made possible through mediation by the Vatican and the Union of South American Nations. On Monday, it released five imprisoned opposition members.

The opposition had been calling for more "political prisoners" to be released. But there were signs it was coming to terms with a decision by electoral authorities last month to halt its drive for a recall referendum aimed at ousting Maduro.

The leader of the opposition benches in the National Assembly, Julio Borges, said one of the main goals in the upcoming talks was to secure early elections. "We are giving a vote of confidence in the Vatican. We don't believe in the government. All our energy is being directed so the people can vote," Borges said.