Spotlight: Observers say unified agenda holds key to success of Venezuelan gov't-opposition dialogue

As Venezuela's government and opposition are beginning talks to defuse the country's political crisis, the dialogue's success depends on both sides having a unified agenda, observers say.

"Dialogue is always going to be positive as long as it is a process pertinent to maintaining political and social peace," political observer Luis Delgado told Xinhua.

"However, in Venezuela we have a previous record of failed dialogues due to dual agendas," said Delgado.

The conservative parties comprising the right-wing Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), which is negotiating with the government, "have historically combined different forms of struggle and agendas," said Delgado, referring to traditional political activism, as well as insurgencies and covert operations.

The MUD was forced to the negotiating table after failing to oust the government by other means, including anti-government demonstrations and a failed signature drive to hold a recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro, said Delgado, who teaches social studies at the state University of Carabobo in northern Venezuela.

"If they felt they were in a position of greater strength, they would not have sat at the negotiating table. They sat because they didn't have enough force behind the street protests and insurgencies, and not even from within the state apparatus", Delgado said, referring to the MUD's controlling majority in the National Assembly (or parliament).

One of the MUD's main demands is the release of at least 130 jailed right-wing activists, who they claimed to be political prisoners, while average Venezuelans, more concerned about the country's acute economic crisis, want to see the two sides work together to improve the economy.

A recent survey by Venezuelan polling firm Hinterlaces shows that some 83 percent of the population is in favor of the national dialogue.

But according to political analyst and blogger Basem Tajeldine, the two sides have reached a "standoff", not just in the area of politics but also in legal and judicial sectors, which is leading to a growing concern of uncertainty among the general population.

For instance, Delgado believes the MUD has no genuine interest in the dialogue, and has been forced by both national and international public opinion to negotiate.

"Since they couldn't achieve foreign intervention, nor ouster by means proposed by the opposition, the MUD sat down to dialogue," said Tajeldine.

"The Vatican took the lead in seeking the dialogue, and that also obliged the right wing to sit down for talks and not oppose a call by the international community," added Tajeldine.

While the proposed recall referendum is not on the agenda for this latest round of the national dialogue, observers say the MUD has not given up on the campaign.

They cited U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon's recent trip to Venezuela's capital city Caracas as a proof, saying the envoy was sent to "pressure" the Venezuelan government into organizing a referendum by the end of the year.

"I think they are looking to closing a chapter in the democratic administration of President Barack Obama," Delgado said, as Shannon's visit was just a week before the U.S. presidential elections.

However, he said, the trip also shows they are playing a "double game:" on the one hand, they support democratic processes on the surface, but on the other hand, they are egging on activities to destabilize the country.

In Tajeldine's view, Shannon's visit is Washington's way of welcoming the talks and admitting its "failure" to put in place a "conservative government" that, together with Argentina and Brazil, would have consolidated the political shift to the right in South America.

"Obama is on his way out and what he wants, which explains Shannon's arrival, is to leave in good standing, after failing to get his hands on the Venezuelan government," said Tajeldine. Endi