Dialogue urged as Guaido returns

CARACAS－Venezuelans are hoping for negotiation and dialogue instead of foreign intervention in the country's political standoff as the opposition leader Juan Guaido returned to Venezuela on Monday.

Guaido flew back to Caracas on Monday after more than a week abroad. He then attended a rally and called for massive protests on Saturday.

While tensions are mounting as Guaido's return posed a direct challenge to Maduro's elected government and could end with Guaido being arrested, Venezuelans urge the opposing camps to resolve the political conflict in a more peaceful way.

The political conflict between President Nicolas Maduro's government and the opposition led by Juan Guaido erupted as Guaido, head of the Venezuelan National Assembly, declared himself "interim president" on Jan 23, a move which was immediately recognized by the United States.

Maduro, who won 2018 Venezuelan presidential election and was inaugurated for a second term on Jan 10, then sealed off the country's border on Feb 23 to block the US aid shipment.

Maduro says the aid is part of a military coup attempt. He agreed to accept humanitarian aid from the European Union via the United Nations system.

Guaido left Venezuela and went on a tour of regional allies after the US aid shipment failed to cross Venezuelan key borders, defying orders banning him from leaving. Although Maduro said the opposition leader could be put in jail when he returned, Guaido nevertheless came back to Venezuela on Monday and announced a new protest against Maduro on Saturday.

Economic hardships

The ongoing political turmoil has hit Venezuela's economy badly, and the country's working class is suffering most from the crisis.

"We don't want to fight with anybody, but we are preparing for resistance," Ramon de la Hoz, a worker, said at his home in the Caracas district of El Valle.

The family has had to weather economic hardships, including cutting down on meat and supplementing with more vegetables.

In the eyes of Andres Antillano, a sociology professor at the Central University of Venezuela, "there is a dramatic situation of impoverishment" in the country.

Falling oil prices and continued spending on social programs "ended up producing a disaster", he said.

US interference is making matters worse, said Venezuelan political analyst Luis Quintana, who teaches at the Bolivarian Military University of Venezuela.

He said he would like to see the two sides sit down to talks, adding that the key to breaking the impasse would be to give voice to those willing to compromise and mediate.

He highlighted the Montevideo Mechanism for mediation promoted by Uruguay, Mexico and Bolivia, a "regional initiative the government is betting on" to forge a peaceful way out of the crisis.

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