Caracas (EFE).- The partial unblocking of X, a budding openness to international press, and the acceptance of humanitarian aid in the wake of the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela have highlighted Delcy Rodríguez’s pragmatism for the political survival of Chavismo, according to analysts consulted by EFE.
What began in January as a sort of trial run, based on the selective release of political prisoners, the return of street protests, and opposition leadership emerging from hiding, has now been supplemented by these measures. The administration aims to alleviate internal pressure and project an image of cooperation to the international community.
Rodríguez, who assumed the role of acting Head of State following the US capture of former president Nicolás Maduro, has shown «gestures» of political opening, explain analyst Piero Treppiccione of the Gumilla Center and sociologist and human rights defender Rafael Uzcátegui of Laboratorios de Paz.
However, they warn, this shift is circumstantial or momentary, driven by the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes on June 24th, which have left more than 4,300 dead and caused extensive infrastructure damage for which the State lacks sufficient response capacity.
They agree that this is an exercise in political survival, where the government uses flexibilization as a temporary safety valve to attempt to gain legitimacy amidst the worst natural disaster in the last 100 years.
«The motivation, rather than a genuine opening or conciliation among political actors, is a matter of conditioning. It is tied to a kind of metamorphosis or mutation of the power factors in the country to navigate or endure this scheme of geopolitical tutelage,» which the United States maintains over Venezuela after capturing Maduro in a military attack on Caracas, Treppiccione indicated.
«All the decisions that Delcy Rodríguez is making at this moment have a single recipient, which is the United States government,» added Uzcátegui.
«Opening diplomatic channels»
After the double earthquake, Rodríguez declared a state of emergency and deployed rescue teams to the seven affected states, though these were scarce during the first 72 hours. Relief teams began to appear with the arrival of rescuers from various allied countries such as the US or Mexico, but also from nations with which Venezuela has no diplomatic relations: Chile, Argentina, El Salvador, Israel, or Canada.
«This could open, or may be opening… diplomatic channels. It is opening communication paths between different political factors that help, but fundamentally, let’s say, sincerity is still missing here,» Treppiccione indicated.
«It is undeniable that trust is still lacking, no absolute trust, or not enough trust to advance, but at least, they are in that process of mutation, adaptation, and political pragmatism,» he maintained.
Parallel to opening up to these countries, X was unblocked on private telecom providers like Digitel and Movistar, following a nearly two-year ban ordered by Maduro, who had accused the platform of inciting violence during the post-election crisis after his reelection was questioned.
The network remains blocked on the state-owned telecommunications company, Cantv, according to the NGO VE Sin Filtro.
Likewise, international journalists were allowed entry, whereas previously, their admission had to be processed through a complicated and lengthy process for obtaining work visas. This comes after years of restrictions and censorship that led to the closure of hundreds of radio stations, television channels, newspapers, and the departure of foreign media outlets.
It remains to be seen whether this political and diplomatic pragmatism, accelerated by the emergency arising from the earthquakes, represents the beginning of a new stage or if, conversely, it is merely a tactical truce by the ruling party to gain breathing room, now that the constitutional deadline for calling elections has passed following Maduro’s capture. EFE
bam/dmv
