Venezuelan opposition confirms it to begin dialogue with government

The Venezuelan opposition confirmed on Thursday that it would participate in dialogue with the government, in a meeting set for Sunday on the island of Margarita.

Jesus Torrealba, executive secretary of the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), announced Thursday that his bloc would sit down with the government to seek to resolve the country's political crisis.

However, while participating in talks to be mediated by the Vatican and the Union of South American Nation (UNASUR), the opposition bloc will continue its agenda to denounce the government's "breaking of the constitutional order."

"The dialogue will take place in parallel to the strategies of citizen expression, in the Parliament and in the street," Torrealba told the private Union Radio.

He added that the MUD would ask the government to either restart the recall referendum process, which were recently suspended by the National Electoral Council, or to call new general elections this year.

"At this meeting, we will table a central topic, which is to recover the electoral agenda. Either they rehabilitate the process to activate a recall referendum...or they call new general elections this year," said the leader.

However, Torrealba's declarations seemed to contradict former opposition presidential candidate and current governor of the state of Miranda, Henrique Capriles, who denied the MUD would attend the talks.

For Torrealba, participating in the talks is the best way to seek a solution to the crisis. "Let it not be bullets and boots, but signatures...and the vote that decide the solution," he stated.

Despite this willingness to talk, the MUD has called for a general strike on Friday as part of their show of strength to demand the recall referendum process proceed. Enditem