The UN secretary-general has offered to broker a dialogue between the Venezuelan government and opposition. But while the mainstream media has been portraying the Nicolás Maduro’s government as the stubborn party, it seems it’s actually the US-backed and self-declared ‘interim president’ Juan Guaidó who is unwilling to enter into negotiations.
Government willingness and opposition stubbornness
On 11 February, UN secretary-general António Guterres reiterated his willingness to serve as a mediator to resolve Venezuela’s political crisis through dialogue. This followed meetingsthroughout the weekend with Venezuela’s foreign minister Jorge Arreaza at the UN’s headquarters in New York.