The Bolivarian Revolution has always called for dialogue and peace (3)

Published at: 06/03/2026 05:00 PM

If the Bolivarian Revolution has done anything since it took over the reins of the nation, it is to seek ways to work together with the opposition to maintain the country's stability and build democracy in peace. To this end, in 2018, the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, once again summoned the productive forces for a national dialogue with a view to the restoration of the economy in the country.

Despite multiple calls, the talks failed to resolve fundamental differences between the government and the opposition, perpetuating political instability . Invitations to a necessary debate were made in all spaces and speeches. During the closing ceremony of the presidential campaign scheduled for May 20, from Bolivar Avenue in Caracas, the Head of State thanked the People's Power for their commitment to the Fatherland on this path of renewal of the national economic system. “I want to call for national dialogue with all the productive forces of the country, we will do it in every region of the nation, we must join forces for the people and provide them with peace, prosperity and unity. Together everything is possible!” , explained Maduro, while recognizing the capacity of the People to grow despite the conjunctures that the Revolution was going through at that time.

During that event, the Venezuelan president emphasized his willingness to resolve the differences between the Right and the Revolution, stating the following: “I confirm my call for dialogue, I have received several political sectors and next week I will continue to receive opposition leaders and we established an agenda.”

In 2018, the calls for dialogue were marked by the profound political, economic and social crisis, intensified by the presidential elections of May of that year. The government of Nicolás Maduro frequently invited the opposition to enter into talks, seeking stability after his re-election, and these approaches included the participation of international mediators, including efforts from countries such as Mexico, Chile, Bolivia and Nicaragua in organizing the meetings.

Despite countless calls for peace and harmony, on August 4th, while Maduro was giving a speech for the 81st anniversary of the Bolivarian National Guard, held on Bolivar Avenue, drones detonated near the presidential box. Fortunately, the president was unharmed, but seven members of the National Guard were injured. The official television broadcast was interrupted after showing the president's surprise reaction and the breaking of the ranks of the military.

A group calling itself “Flannel Soldiers”, claimed responsibility for the attack through social networks. The Venezuelan government accused the internal opposition and the governments of Colombia (under Juan Manuel Santos) and the United States of planning and financing the attack; for this attack, two DJI M-600 drones were used, each loaded with approximately one kilogram of plastic explosive known as C-4.

The Attorney General's Office identified the opposition, in general, as a promoter of terrorism and channeled the investigation to support the charges of criminal association and treason. The failed attack contributed to the non-dialoguing path that Venezuelan politics entered at the end of the last decade. Despite this scenario, the Head of State continued his efforts to settle differences over violence and to work for economic recovery.

Already by 2019, President Maduro surpassed 600 announcements of invitations to talk, in the midst of a deep political crisis. These calls sought peace agreements and mediation after Juan Guaidó's self-swearing and international pressure, highlighting the process in Barbados.

Since February of that year, Maduro reiterated the invitation to dialogue, in order to seek national peace and overcome sanctions, blockades and conspiracies. This time he insisted on calling on the opposition to discuss economic development and stability, in addition to continuing to bet on achieving a fruitful debate with all the political sectors of the Venezuelan opposition, which would allow for the next few years of Venezuela to go through in peace.

During a special interview conducted in January 2019 by Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet and broadcast on VTV, Maduro recalled that he called on the opposition to dialogue and remained open to that possibility. In that interview, he stressed: “I have called for dialogue more than four hundred times, and I stand firm, all those opposition sectors, in the situation they find themselves that want to talk, I have open arms, an open mind, ready to talk about the future of the country and I think that sooner rather than later a diverse political dialogue will be established in the country with all the political and ideological forces of that opposition, I have that faith, and I will work to ensure that there is a political dialogue in Venezuela fruitful, which will allow, hopefully, to rebuild a political opposition that the country needs to have peace of mind, to have peace”.

AMELYREN BASABE/Mazo News Team