Froilán Barrios Nieves was director of Fetrazulia, executive director of the CTV and representative of several Venezuelan workers' unions. In the political field, he was elected deputy of the National Constituent Assembly in 1999 and was the proponent of the labor rights articles in the current constitution. He is also a founder of the labor movement and published publications on the topics of work, decentralization and state reform. He constantly writes for national and international newspapers and works as an associate professor at UCAB.
Barrios spoke to La República about the difficult social and political situation in Venezuela in a year in which presidential elections must take place even though the regime has already disqualified María Corina Machado, Chavismo's main political opponent.
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—How can we summarize the current regime of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela?
“Venezuela cannot be understood if the type of regime we have is not precise. The characteristic of the state is that we are facing what has been achieved after 25 years of leadership, both by Chávez and by the expansion of Maduro. We are faced with a neo-corporate regime of a dictatorial nature that ignores the various actors and does not prioritize understanding and dialogue, but exclusion, and from then on it is proposed that there are no alternatives other than the adherents of the ideology they represent They call it socialist. They cover themselves with all the ideological cloak to be able to justify it and call it the socialism of the 21st century, but it has no characteristics, but in reality the pretense and implementation of a dictatorship in the name of “unology”, which consistently many The world has aspects. .
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—How do citizens react to the disqualification of María Corina Machado?
– Faced with the ruling of the Supreme Court issued this year confirming the disqualification of María Corina, the citizens of Venezuela have greeted it with extreme rejection for a very simple reason: María Corina's candidacy was not the result of an individual decision. It was one Pre-election process that took place despite all the opposition sponsored by the regime, so it didn't happen. Later, the government underestimated her and threatened not to recognize her through the CNE itself. Finally, the trial took place on October 22, 2023 and was a success not only at the national but also at the global level. So this decision was the second experience, because let's remember that in 2006 there was an attempted election. Then there was the election in 2012 in which Capriles was elected, and now this attempt was made in the 2023 important primary, with one exception that the successful candidate María Corina Machado received no more and no less than 93% of the vote and the other candidates were left with a reduced score. Therefore, citizens perceive with great concern that even if there was a majority decision of the Venezuelan population to support María Corina Machado, the power is being used to ridicule, because this decision is being used under the pretext of the Court of Auditors and the suspension of I. Don I don't know what the crimes are, but ultimately they are just an excuse. The majority of the population sees this as just an excuse.
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—What are the chances that Machado can take part in the elections?
“I have no illusions about Machado's chances of participating in the elections, because it is a regime that basically follows the Nicaraguan formula used by Daniel Ortega, who defeated the main opponent who would be the certain president: Cristiana Chamorro and from then on she disqualified the various candidates (…) The CNE in Venezuela will set a date but the disqualification of María Corina will be maintained. What would be the opposite way? A great national mobilization. And of course there is support linked to the international community, but that has also happened in other phases and the repression has been brutal, which is why I see the environment or the context of participation as overly limited because we remember that the regime the same has orientation as that applied by Daniel Ortega, and ideologically it has the same conformation of the circle that I have called the Pirates of the Caribbean, which is the Cuba of Díaz-Canel, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and Maduro in Venezuela.
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—What role should international organizations play in the Venezuelan elections (OAS, ICJ, UN)?
“The role of international organizations is crucial, above all, to demonstrate the character of the Venezuelan regime and that is why it is important and highly valued, as the Organization of American States is the International Court of Justice of the United Nations Organization” and human rights organizations in of the world must take into account the situation of Venezuela, which is in the eye of the hurricane because of its constant violation of international agreements in the 21st century. That is why the international community is so important, because the Maduro regime is not a sovereign government, but a government that supports the world powers that are enemies of the West and democratic values, because it occupies a privileged position compared to the great American imperialism. And they portray the Axis as the enemy's main target, especially because it is a power that has oil. In this axis, Venezuela is a privileged piece because it has a thousand times greater importance than Nicaragua and even Cuba, 80 kilometers away, miles from the North American coast. Venezuela actually has an important weight, and that is because oil is a fundamental reference, and secondly, it is also important because behind Maduro are members of the so-called Sao Paulo Forum, who have a fundamental ally, namely the Lula government Being in power at this moment will carry important weight to also try to justify his actions.
—What danger is there for democracy and the security of opposition politicians if the Maduro regime continues?
– The danger associated with democracy has already been recognized and recognized since Maduro took power and first arrived in Miraflores because he arrived on the basis of a lie that Chávez had already died in December and then in January 2013 they pulled off the trick of a Transition , where it was justified that this transition could be made when he had already died, and an electoral process was carried out in April 2013 in which we have no doubt that Capriles was the one who won. From his government in 2013 to the year 2024, which I have called in my articles the infamous decade, due to the consequences of the decline of the gross domestic product by more than 80 percent, the diaspora of almost 10 million Venezuelans, that is, what a greater Ruin in a country that cannot retain its wealth, whose gross domestic product has practically disappeared and whose inflation is at most seven figures and is still one of the highest, not only at the regional level but also at the international level, of which we are talking about the last rate in 2023 is around 200, 250 percent, surpassed only by Argentina (…) What happened recently in Chile shows and signals to Venezuelans that they are not only persecuting those who are in the country, but also those , who live there Outsiders can also become the target of attacks, as in the case of retired Lieutenant Ojeda, who was eventually murdered, meaning that in 2024 this would be practically confirmation that the regime can definitely be ended if it is extended Democracy that has ceased to be democracy since 2013 with the de facto introduction of Maduro as president and then with the introduction of a Constituent Assembly with foundations that were not in the Constitution, a non-universal corporate Constituent Assembly that he imposed, to simply establish one parallel to the National Assembly elected in 2015.
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“If Machado doesn’t participate, what other politicians would have a chance to fight Maduro’s votes?
“Even if we know full well that María Corina's constant campaign slogan is to go to the end… well, she will hit the dictatorial wall that will completely prevent her participation. This suggests that we confirm that the script of Daniel Ortega from Nicaragua will also be applied in Venezuela and that the regime, on the other hand, will try to weaken any vote. Now I have also asked the Unity Platform and Mara Corina to analyze to what extent a dictatorship is able to distort everything, and in my opinion, ordering a zero vote or an abstention will not do the greatest damage to the dictatorship. Sooner or later the opposition team will have to discuss who is the candidate to whom María María Corina's support will be delegated, and these dates are imminent. If the electoral calendar is proposed and then they are denied registration and that any position of condemnation or mobilization existing at the international level is not capable of twisting the arm of the regime, a discussion would have to take place about what alternative and which The question is that The 93% of popular trust in María Corina Machado does not automatically apply to any candidate she names, due to the discrediting of the Venezuelan political class. This led to the Venezuelan population trusting no one except María Corina. Now think about who to delegate if she gets 2 million 250,000 votes and the runner-up gets 20,000, not even 1 or 0.5%; Obviously the population will not vote, we would have to see which candidate reflects this possibility for it to continue.
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—Why does Maduro's strategy and power still seem strong and invincible after more than ten years of rule?
“It seems to still be strong even after 10 years of government, because it was implemented simply on the basis of terror and on the basis of the bayonet, that is, the Maduro government has already felt it firsthand, it is not pursuing any other Politics as that of not rising up.” Fear, persecution, frightening, like the testimonies of those who passed through the helicoids, or the grave in Plaza Venezuela, or the various secret torture centers that are said to be permanent in Caracas, have shown that in the protests of 2014, 2017 and others in 2018 there were protests, but especially in these two years more than 150 young people died who gave their lives, making the persecution even worse and unjustified Imprisonments that even led to suicide, as was the case of the pilot who was found dead in the Helicoid. It closed all possible channels of communication: more than 300 to 400 radio stations were suppressed. Television is in ruins, it only shows entertainment and sports news, but it is not a news program, it does not tell the harsh reality that the Venezuelan population is experiencing.
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—Finally, I would like to know what impact it will have on the country and what is expected if the Maduro government remains in place or a new president is elected.
“Many people were happy with the result of the primaries and the world is finally realizing that there is a population in Venezuela that wants to leave the regime.” There was so much hope that there would be a different turnout; For example, on October 22nd, almost three million people took part. And with the referendum, we already know that it was a defeat, a disaster for the government, which took place five weeks later, on December 3, 2023. The referendum on El Essequibo reflects how absurd the government is; So if there has been an awakening, a wave of hope in the country, that must be acknowledged; There is no doubt that María Corina will become president. But we already know all the restrictions that exist and, on the other hand, if the Maduro government continues, the catastrophe will be even greater, when in the 25 years of the Chavista government 10 million Venezuelans have already left the country and with Maduro then 9 million it will be higher, it will be uncontrollable because the statistics say that 50% of the population studying in universities and the population in general of the 22 million who remain in the country want to leave the country. Unless there is a real democratic constitutional solution aimed at removing the existing yoke from Venezuelans, the country will obviously either find itself on the cliff or return to the reconstruction process. Good Venezuelans, those who strive for democracy, want a process of rebuilding the country in which we were born, but those who govern think otherwise. The script of those who govern Venezuela is that of Cuba, which has now been under dictatorship for 65 years.