Democracy Dialogues: Edmundo González on Venezuela's Next Steps
Democracy Dialogues: Edmundo González on Venezuela's Next Steps
Venezuela’s president-elect speaks on the need for global pressure against the Maduro regime and the Trump administration's approach to the crisis.
Speakers:
- Edmundo González Urrutia, President-elect of Venezuela
- Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, Americas Society/Council of the Americas
“There’s now greater interest in finding a resolution to the Venezuelan political crisis within U.S. foreign policy,” says Edmundo González, Venezuela’s legitimate president, in a Democracy Dialogues interview with AS/COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth. González, who attended the inauguration of President Donald Trump, has visited multiple countries across the Americas since his election, urging the international community to ramp up pressure on Nicolás Maduro and his regime.
In the interview, González discusses the challenges facing the Venezuela, from the escalating humanitarian crisis to the repression of the opposition. “There are approximately 2,000 political prisoners,” he states. He also warns that Maduro’s refusal to recognize his election victory will only exacerbate the country’s migration crisis, forcing even more Venezuelans to flee.
“The only language [the regime] understands is pressure,” González asserts, calling on the United States and its allies to intensify efforts to remove Maduro from power. He details to Farnsworth his conversations with world leaders, including presidents of Argentina, the Dominican Republic, and Panama, as well as and officials from Brazil and Colombia.
As he travels across the Americas and Europe, González remains optimistic and offers a message of hope to the Venezuelan people: “Sooner or later, we will win.”
Democracy Dialogues is a series of conversations on the state of democracy in the Americas. Hosted by Eric Farnsworth, these one-on-one interviews with leading democracy practitioners explore the most difficult issues of regional democratic governance with an eye toward pragmatic, deeply-considered solutions. Previous guests have included Guatemala's President Bernardo Arévalo, Colombia's then-President Ivan Duque, Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, NBA Basketball Star Enes Kanter Freedom, OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro, Cuba Decide founder Rosa Maria Paya, founder and editor of Nicaragua's Confidential Carlos Fernando Chamorro, and numerous others.
Follow the conversation: #DemocracyDialogues | @ASCOA
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