MIAMI (AP) — A proposal to address Venezuela’s electricity crisis with the help of the United Nations is proving a political hot potato for Nicolás Maduro’s opponents.
On Tuesday, the opposition-controlled National Assembly at the last minute scratched a schedule debate on a $350 million credit from a regional development bank to supply emergency power to areas in Venezuela that have been in the dark from blackouts for months.
The project’s promoters accuse opposition hardliners of playing politics with Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis while ignoring the plight of millions of Venezuelans who urgently demand solutions to everyday travails as the fight to remove Maduro drags on.
“We can’t condemn millions of Venezuelans to life without power while we wait for Maduro to give up power,” said Oscar Rondero, an opposition lawmaker from Nueva Esparta state, one of the most impacted by the blackouts.
The proposed loan agreement with the Development Bank of Latin America, or CAF, enjoys the backing of Maduro but still requires the National Assembly’s approval. The funding would be used to supply 1,206 megawatts of power — about half of its current output from diesel and gas-powered facilities— in four hard-hit areas as well as backup generators for hospitals nationwide.
The proposal puts the opposition, which considers the Maduro administration corrupt and illegitimate, in a difficult spot, said David Smilde, a Venezuela expert at Tulane University. It also lays bare divisions that have grown more embittered as the U.S.-backed campaign to oust Maduro loses its momentum, with many of his opponents exiled for fear of arrest.
“Supporting it would require tacit recognition of the Maduro government,” said Smilde, who is also a senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America. “But opposing it would mean denying Venezuelans a significant opportunity to improve the terrible conditions they are living in.”
To address those concerns, the U.N.’s development agency would be responsible for administering the funding in conjunction with an independent board comprised of representatives of Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó. No funds would be provided directly to the state-run utility Corpoelec, which is run by Maduro loyalists and widely blamed for the grid’s collapse.
If approved, Smilde says it could help foster closer cooperation between the two feuding sides to stem a crisis that has led more than 4.6 million Venezuelans to flee the country, including support for an “oil for food” deal that is increasingly being floated by policymakers and analysts.