Delcy Rodríguez, interim president of Venezuela, celebrated this Wednesday the conclusion of the First Cycle of Conversations between the Venezuelan government and the National Assembly elected in 2015 (AN), describing it as a milestone toward democratic coexistence in the country.
"I greet and celebrate this first step in the dialogue process with the opposition sector represented in the National Assembly elected in 2015. I trust that this process will help build a path towards better democratic coexistence among the different political sectors of the country," Rodríguez wrote on her X account while sharing the joint statement.
The document summarizing the First Cycle of Conversations was signed in Caracas by Jorge Rodríguez, head of the government delegation, and Dinorah Figuera, president of the AN 2015, after five working sessions in technical tables and five plenary sessions between both delegations.
The process, formally launched on August 7 at La Carlota air base, concluded its first cycle with concrete agreements regarding the complete renewal of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) and the assistance to victims of the double earthquake on June 24.
The agreement regarding the TSJ includes four steps: reforms to the Organic Law of the court and other laws of the justice system; renewal and expansion of the judicial nomination committee; activation of a new nomination process to appoint all magistrates; and the establishment of a credential review council based on the Constitution.
Figuera had previously indicated that the schedule includes the appointment of the new TSJ in November and the renewal of the National Electoral Council in December, which would conclude the process before the end of 2026.
The statement establishes that "the schedule for implementing the agreements will begin this August with official announcements and concrete actions, under a continuous working mechanism that ensures strict compliance with each commitment."
The dialogue was initiated by the United States seven months after the capture of Nicolás Maduro, and represents the ninth attempt at negotiation between chavismo and the opposition, although it is the first with explicit and active support from Washington.
The agreement also includes mobilizing Venezuela's international reserve assets deposited in the Bank of England to assist the victims of the double earthquake, which resulted in at least 6,125 fatalities and nearly 18,000 people left homeless.
The process, however, faces fractures on both sides. The Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), which includes María Corina Machado and opposition member Edmundo González Urrutia, has been excluded from the table due to not being members of the 2015 AN, and demands “an end to political persecution and the restoration of civil rights as essential conditions for progressing towards a true national reconstruction.”
From the other end, hardline sectors of chavismo protested in Caracas against the dialogue, called by the Anti-Imperialist Popular Front, describing it as an imposition from Washington.
According to NTN24, the first cycle of discussions did not include the restructuring of the CNE nor a specific electoral calendar, which are two central demands of the broader opposition.
This agreement from August 12 represents the first concrete and verifiable outcome of the process, and the first time that the opposition has formally participated in the design of judicial renewal in Venezuela.
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