María Corina Machado rejects dialogue with Delcy Rodríguez government; demands real progress in Venezuela

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has declared she will not participate in a dialogue process between a faction of the opposition and the interim government led by Delcy Rodríguez, which is slated to begin in August. The initiative, which has the backing of the United States, was announced in mid-July by Rodríguez's government and a group of former opposition lawmakers from the 2015-2020 period, aiming for the "strengthening of democracy" in Venezuela.

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Members of the 2015 National Assembly and representatives of the regime have announced the creation of a mechanism between them in whose design, construction, and operation, we do not participate.

Machado, alongside opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, issued a statement asserting their non-involvement. "Members of the 2015 National Assembly and representatives of the regime have announced the creation of a mechanism between them in whose design, construction, and operation, we do not participate," the statement read. Machado and González Urrutia emphasized that any explanation of the dialogue's scope and decisions rests with its initiators, who must inform the country of their objectives, methods, and timeline.

Despite their refusal to join the current dialogue, Machado and González Urrutia expressed hope that the process would yield a "timely presidential electoral calendar." They stated that their evaluation of any such process would be based on "concrete and verifiable achievements: the recovery of democratic institutions, the release of all political prisoners, real guarantees for all actors without exclusion, a timely presidential electoral calendar, and full respect for popular sovereignty."

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They must inform the country of their objectives, their method, and their timeline.

The opposition leaders' stance comes after previous efforts by exiled opposition figure Dinorah Figuera, who met with National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez and other opposition leaders in Caracas. Machado, however, has previously expressed a willingness to negotiate a transition with Rodríguez's government, provided there were real advances. She maintains she will not be an "obstacle to any initiative that produces real progress" in Venezuela, while continuing to advocate for new presidential elections.

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We will evaluate this process based on concrete and verifiable achievements: the recovery of democratic institutions, the release of all political prisoners, real guarantees for all actors without exclusion, a timely presidential electoral calendar, and full respect for popular sovereignty.