Nicolás Maduro gave an exclusive interview for the US media company Bloomberg, and confirmed the process of rapprochement between his government and the opposition, and the intention to advance in a dialogue that allows, among other things, to carry out a transparent electoral process for November 21, when regional elections will be held.

Maduro has strengthened his base with the internal Chavistas after imposing Jorge Rodríguez as president of the National Assembly and displacing Diosdado Cabello from the central decisions of the regime. The opposition division comes in time to give him a central place in the local political scene.

This allows him to bet on a normalization of the relationship with the United States and Europe. In Miraflores, they understand that there is a clear improvement with the White House in the approach to the situation with respect to Trump. In this sense, Juan Gonzalez has been a spokesman with whom they believe they can move forward. "His role is relevant, but the gringos still have a very limited view of what is happening," a source close to the opposition told LPO.

US intelligence forecast for Latin America: Polarization and Violence"

There is another element that fuels the Venezuelan regime and it is related with the dollarization of the economy. Maduro mentioned it in the interview, considered it positive and explained: "It has been a useful escape valve for consumers, entrepreneurs and the economy. We have had to face the issues, stay cool, and develop a set of policies that allow the productive forces of the country to take their course and lead us to a situation that hopefully will be consolidated in the second half of the year, which is to resume economic growth."

Henrique Capriles.

AP

Maduro's economic model is being shaped on the basis of the Special Economic Zones inspired by China-led free trade in different regions, as well as the opening up of the economy and privatizations.

"It's hard to see it from the outside, but here we are in another country, another Venezuela and the government is going to lay the institutional and economic foundations of that other Venezuela. In addition, this dollarized country, with people indifferent to politics, who are less dependent on the state, is imposing itself," said the same opposition source.

In Miraflores, they understand that there is a clear improvement with the White House in the approach to the situation with respect to Trump. In this sense, Juan Gonzalez has been a spokesman with whom they believe they can move forward.

Maduro managed to get Norway to agree to mediate the dialogue but the opposition has to put its pieces together between what remains of Juan Guaidó, the return of Henrique Capriles, who intends to run for the regional elections, and a new group of entrepreneurs with political aspirations.

"The U.S. continues to propose a Guaidó-Maduro negotiation for presidential elections or referendum: that's not going to happen. The U.S. no longer has any plans on how to pressure the government, since we need to recall that we have come from the maximum pressure of Trump," this opponent pointed out, without mentioning Guaidó's armed forces.

The Venezuelan government is willing to negotiate the release of political prisoners, as well as the CNE governors that have been negotiated, and unrestricted spots in the regional elections. This is a window of opportunity for the Capriles sector, the entrepreneurs, and the National Dialogue Table, which is represented in the National Assembly.

With these actions, the madurismo sector seeks to open a direct channel of negotiation with the United States and Europe in order to obtain a pact of coexistence with them based on economic interests, without breaking ties with the alternative bases in China, Russia and Iran.

"The 'madurismo' model, also known as 6th Republic, or whatever you want to call it, is going to be imposed. There is not enough resistance either internally or externally to stop it. Within its framework, it is necessary to understand the negotiations involved, in other words, the space that other political forces may gain in this new Venezuelan scenario," acknowledged this opposition official with considerable resignation.

However, they recognize that the only thing that can shake the castle of Nicolás Maduro is the progress of the investigation in the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. The case was left in the hands of Fatou Bensouda to be addressed by the British lawyer Karim Khan.

Maduro's economic model is being shaped on the basis of the Special Economic Zones inspired by the China-led free trade in different regions, as well as the opening up of the economy and privatizations.

The regime knows this and that is why Attorney General Tarek William Saab acknowledged that Juan Pablo Pernalete, Fernando Alban, and Rafael Acosta Arevalo were murdered by the state. A twist that hides an attempt by Maduro to perform damage control and, as LPO learned, ends up condemning a military line of command and not Maduro.