Venezuela government, opposition launch democratic rebuilding process
July 15 (UPI) -- Venezuela's government and a portion of the opposition have reached agreement to begin a process aimed at rebuilding the country's democratic institutions after the capture of Nicolás Maduro by a U.S. military force in January.
The process, initially scheduled to begin weeks ago, was postponed because of the humanitarian emergency caused by two earthquakes that struck the country June 24.
With the most critical phase of the emergency over, the government and opposition will launch a bilateral technical working group Aug. 1, marking their first joint step toward designing electoral reforms with U.S. support.
At the core of the agreement is an unprecedented mutual recognition between two parallel legislative bodies.
According to an announcement Tuesday by Venezuela's National Assembly, the negotiating group will be led by Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly that exercises control in Caracas, and Dinorah Figuera, president of the National Assembly elected in 2015, which retains Washington's recognition and manages key assets abroad.
The opposition-controlled National Assembly elected in 2015 maintains that its mandate remains legally valid, although most of its lawmakers are outside Venezuela following judicial persecution, removal of the legislature's institutional powers and arrest warrants issued against them under Maduro's government.
Figuera left Venezuela in 2018 because of harassment, threats and direct political persecution by the government's intelligence services. After nearly eight years in exile in Spain, where she led the legislature remotely, Figuera returned to Venezuela in June under a special protection and accompaniment arrangement coordinated by the State Department to lead the current institutional transition process.
The opposition leader confirmed creation of a joint working group with the National Assembly controlled by the ruling party. She said the group will include 20 people, with 10 representatives from each side, and will address key issues, including elections, formation of the National Electoral Council, known by its Spanish initials CNE, and electoral laws.
"In my capacity as president of the National Assembly, I assume the commitment and political will to promote a bilateral technical and political road map, based on a working agenda with concrete objectives and milestones, that will allow us to address the fundamental issues needed to consolidate" the process, Figuera said.
The rapprochement is backed by the strategy of President Donald Trump's administration, carried out directly by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The United States has tied the flow of oil revenue and the easing of financial restrictions to compliance with a strict three-phase plan: stabilization, recovery and transition.
Unlike previous transition efforts that sought immediate elections, Washington's approach to Venezuela calls for "strategic patience."
The State Department has said the country must first consolidate internal security, economic restructuring and press freedom before holding a presidential election.
Rubio's public support for Figuera's technical leadership reinforces that vision of a gradual and controlled transition.
The process, however, begins amid visible divisions within the opposition. María Corina Machado, the opposition's most prominent electoral leader, has been left out of the talks.
The organization Vocería Oficial de Venezuela, speaking on behalf of Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia, said they had called an urgent meeting with parties from the Democratic Unitary Platform and organizations that signed the Panama Manifesto.
The meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, is intended to assess the scope of the "joint working agenda" announced by Figuera and define a unified public position.
Machado and González reiterated that "the center of any agreement and decision must be the urgency of the people's needs" and respect for the "popular mandate of Venezuelans."
Machado has called for transparent elections within no more than 10 months and questioned the lack of clarity over how a new electoral authority would be selected.
Her ability to operate inside the country also has been limited after she said interim authorities in Caracas were preventing her return to Venezuela.
The move comes amid Venezuela's complex political situation following disputed presidential elections. Some sectors see it as a possible step toward a transition or broader negotiation, although it has generated both expectations and distrust, digital news outlet Efecto Cocuyo reported.
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This story was originally published July 15, 2026 at 9:34 AM.