Machado returns to Venezuela as interim president hints at dialogue

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado returned to the country on Sunday and was greeted with fanfare, according to coverage of the event. Her return came as the country's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, indicated she may be willing to engage in dialogue with Machado.

Asked by reporters whether Machado would be involved in ongoing political negotiations, Rodríguez said it was an opportunity for all voices to be heard. Rodríguez's remark offered a possible opening for the opposition leader after her return from exile.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration had told Venezuela's government weeks and weeks ago that Machado should be allowed to return unperturbed. He said the US government had not discouraged Machado from returning. The statement places Washington's public position alongside Rodríguez's remarks.

Brian Fonseca, vice provost for defence and national security research at Florida International University, said he first thought the return was largely symbolic but now saw significance in it. The question, he said, is whether her return begins to change the institutional infrastructure that could give way to a democratic transition. He said her return was inevitable in many ways, though he noted that contests with the administration had held back her ability to go back.

Fonseca added that the US administration has said repeatedly that Venezuela is not ready for elections and that the institutional mechanisms for free elections are not in place. The regime, he said, is still very much in control. The US, in his account, is trying to use the leverage it has acquired to push for political transition and change, but institutional infrastructure is needed to absorb that change.

He said he would not be surprised if there were a call for elections, or at least an announcement of elections, at some point down the road. He called that possibility premature, but said Machado's return could accelerate the discussion and perhaps move the country back towards a process of democratic representation.