Interview: OAS meeting expected to help relieve political tension in Venezuela

A meeting of the permanent council of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Thursday at the request of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is expected to help relieve the political tension in the country, an expert has said.

The meeting is to be attended by representatives of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), an intergovernmental regional organization comprising 12 South American countries.

Several foreign politicians who have been trying to broker a dialogue between the Venezuelan government and the opposition will also attend the Thursday meeting.

Leading mediators include Former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Former Panamanian President Martin Torrijos and Former Dominican President Leonel Fernandez.

The presence of Unasur and the former heads of state would ensure a "more positive political environment" for Venezuela, Victor Hugo Juarez, an analyst of international politics, told Xinhua.

The Venezuelan opposition is demanding a referendum for the removal of Maduro due to a severe economic crisis, chronic shortage of goods and spiraling inflation.

The fact that Venezuela called for this meeting shows that Maduro wants to see concrete negotiations taking place, said Juarez, noting that the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable boycotted previous dialogue initiatives.

Also on Thursday, the OAS will hold a special session to discuss whether or not to apply the Inter-American Democratic Charter (IDC) to Venezuela.

The IDC was created in 2001 in order to allow the OAS to strengthen and uphold democratic institutions among its members. It dictates how the OAS can react if a member government impairs human rights, and possible actions includes inspection trips and other measures that could affect the political process.

Venezuela on Monday asked OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro to cancel the special session, insisting he had overstepped his authority in convening it.

"The executive power, the judicial power, the national assembly ... are all working completely normally, even faced with the complexity of the Venezuelan situation," Juarez said, adding that it is groundless to apply the IDC to the country.

The arguments deployed by OAS chief Luis Almagro in favor of the IDC are weak, said Juarez.

In late May, Almagro called on the OAS to consider activating the IDC against Venezuela to respond to the country's worsening economic crisis and escalating clashes between loyalist and opposition forces. Endi