Where Delcy’s address mattters

Lots to unpack from that speech. The “elections will be held” line will garner the headlines, not the obvious ambiguity around the statement. She didn’t specify anything similar to a date or what kind of elections these would be, only that “the ancestral wisdom of the Venezuelan people” will define the right moment. In what looks like another damage control act, White House sources yesterday told Axios of Trump reminding Delcy that “elections need to happen” eventually. The piece quotes insiders floating “the summer or fall of 2028” as a sensible date. At the moment and with the due level of urgency in doing the necessary technical and political arrangements, it is feasible to hold general elections in 2027.

Going back to the speech, Rodríguez claimed Venezuela is undergoing an orderly, institutional and verifiable “process of democratic transformation.” She acknowledged the exodus of Venezuelans (which Maduro and herself once denied or minimized in that and other podiums) and the lack of trustworthy institutions. She spoke of the ongoing talks with the opposition delegation led by Dinorah Figuera. She emphasized the legal component of the reforms in the agenda, namely the judicial reform and a full democratic opening (whose progress so far is nil). She claimed some of the most solid contemporary transitions to democracy were conducted not by breaking with the regime (ruptura) but through the existing institutions (which is not entirely false: see Chile and Spain). At that point, she stressed that “legality can be the path toward a better legality.”

This speech is obviously meant to paint her as the leader driving Venezuela toward a real democratization process. It isn’t proof that any of these plans will come to fruition, but due to its language and contents, it could be an interesting document if she ever completes the job. A huge if, of course. Alejandro Reverón, a blog contributor that likes to write about the legality of the current process, has argued that transitions are wickedly tortuous and that each reform reveals its true purpose only with time. We can only conclude that there’s still a very long way to go, and that if Delcy and Rubio are as reform-minded as they often love to sound, the logical thing would be to allow Maria Corina Machado to return to the country and start doing politics again. El papel lo aguanta todo, reality is a different discussion.