Venezuelan opposition votes to maintain Juan Guaido as bloc leader

Opposition parties voted on Monday to endorse the continuity of Juan Guaidó as leader of the opposition bloc in Venezuela. A second vote – scheduled for Thursday – is still needed to ratify the 38-year-old interim president’s role.

Not all opposition parties supported Guaido's continuity in this vote, however, and the vote comes at a turbulent time for the Venezuelan opposition, which was ravaged in the Nov. 21 elections and has since seen open manifestations of division within the bloc.

The classical liberal political party Vente Venezuela, led by former National Assembly Deputy María Corina Machado, issued a statement about Guaido’s continued appointment, citing concerns that the opposition leader was unable to oust dictator Nicolas Maduro from power.

Similarly, Julio Borges, the former foreign minister for Venezuela’s U.S.-backed interim government and a leading figure in the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) coalition, announced his resignation earlier this month – citing frustration over Guaido’s inability to lead the opposition.

"The (interim) government makes sense as an instrument to get out of the dictatorship. But at this moment, in our way of seeing it, the interim government has been damaged," Borges said.

Maduro also rejected Guaido’s selection and appeared on Venezuelan state media to call the move one of “political stupidity and ridiculousness.”

Guaido, however, remains confident in his ability to lead – citing the strong international support he continues to enjoy.

“The U.S. and allied countries reaffirmed for this year and next,” he told reporters at a press conference in Caracas when asked about foreign recognition last month.

The U.S. and dozens of other countries threw their support behind Guaido, the president of the legislature, as the constitutional leader in January 2019, maintaining that the elections won by Maduro were fraudulent.