"Very soon, there will be changes in Venezuela and we will be able to organize a truly free election in our country." In an exclusive interview with the President of Venezuela's National Assembly, Brut talks to Juan Guaidó about the crisis in Venezuela, where they're at now, and the future.
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00:00I am Juan Gerardo Guaidó Marquez, I am 35 years old, I am president of the Venezuelan National Parliament
00:07and president in charge of Venezuela by article 233 of our constitution.
00:12Many people in the world maintain that a country as rich as Venezuela could reach this level, this point.
00:22What is happening in Venezuela?
00:24Venezuela is the country with the largest oil reserves in the world.
00:27It had one of the best GDP on the planet, also in its time of educational and social development.
00:34Today, unfortunately, the product of corruption of many years,
00:37of the theft of between 300,000 and 400,000 million dollars of public funds and incapacity.
00:46A bad model implemented.
00:48We have unfortunately gone back to the fact that today 25% of the population is in a complex humanitarian emergency.
00:5524 million Venezuelans have emigrated, 15% and that the migration flow continues.
01:00This year we run the risk of even exceeding the figures of Syria in migration.
01:07How can you be president if there is still a president in Villaflores, Nicolás Maduro?
01:14Maduro's presidential term ended on January 10, 2019.
01:18There was no valid election in 2018 when he corresponded by constitution,
01:24for which the president of the national parliament, in this case I elect by votes since 2015
01:33and elected by the deputies as president of the parliament,
01:36corresponds to me, according to article 233 of our constitution,
01:40to be the president in charge of Venezuela to achieve a free election in our country.
01:45To those who say that Nicolás Maduro is still president because he has the command of the armed forces,
01:52well, what would you answer?
01:55Maduro did not exercise as president but as a dictator.
01:58His constitutional period was defeated and by force he kidnaps the powers of the state.
02:03There is still a part of the Venezuelan population that supports Nicolás Maduro.
02:08To what extent are you a legitimate president for them?
02:12Well, according to the latest data analysis study, 90% of the population supports a change
02:19and only less than 10% support Nicolás Maduro today.
02:25In short, a truly free election, which by constitution is my mandate as president in charge of determining
02:32who must govern Venezuela.
02:36But by constitution it is the president of the parliament, in this case me, who must achieve that free election.
02:43Have you spoken to Nicolás Maduro lately?
02:47No.
02:49Never?
02:50No, only in 2016 when I went to the parliament and at that time he was told that he had to release the political prisoners in Venezuela.
03:00At that time there were already more than 400 political prisoners in Venezuela.
03:03Now, what happened on April 30? What was the objective of Operation Libertad?
03:10A democratic transition in Venezuela that produced a truly free election.
03:15Again, by constitution it is my responsibility to stabilize the emergency, to attend to it,
03:21to be able to stop a potential catastrophe in order to have a truly free election in Venezuela
03:27and to reorient the country, which is one of the largest countries in the world,
03:31a country with vast natural reserves, to prosperity again.
03:36Today, 7 million Venezuelans are at risk of death by a complex military emergency.
03:41The word complex means that it was not caused by an earthquake, a tornado or something natural,
03:49but by incapacity, corruption and human causes.
03:53On April 30, the discontent of the armed forces was manifested, as it did in Cúcuta.
03:57The military united the sergeants of Cotizo, a very popular sector in Caracas, a few months ago.
04:02In short, the discontent of the armed forces in what is happening in Venezuela.
04:07But what happened, specifically on April 30, quickly?
04:11Militaries were manifested against Maduro, including General of Division Cristopher Figuera,
04:17demanding what all Venezuelans are demanding,
04:20ceasing the usurpation, government of transition and free elections.
04:23Did the operation work 100%?
04:26Well, it is evident that Maduro continues to usurp functions in Minaflores,
04:31but if you ask me what percentage worked, today it has much less support,
04:35not only in the streets, but also in the armed forces.
04:38After 20 years of polarization in Venezuela,
04:43don't you think that Venezuelans are tired of hearing promises that were not fulfilled?
04:54Venezuelans are tired, they are on the verge of death.
04:57I think this is much more serious.
04:59I must insist, 40% of the population, 25% of the population,
05:0315% who have emigrated, even walking from Caracas,
05:07we are doing this interview, to Peru, to Ecuador,
05:10there are thousands of kilometers that have been walked,
05:12from the state of despair that a person must have,
05:15to walk thousands of kilometers fleeing the crisis.
05:18So we are tired of promises, at risk of death,
05:22the product of irresponsible policies, of 20 years of corruption,
05:27and that we have an opportunity, the great opportunity,
05:29the Venezuelans, despite that dictatorship, despite that persecution,
05:33despite the torture that we have received from the opposition leaders,
05:37to achieve freedom and democracy in our country.
05:39And don't you think that what happened on April 30
05:42demotivated a part of the opposition?
05:45I think that April 30 is a reflection of society
05:49and what happens in the armed forces.
05:52It is also a reflection that we need more members of the armed forces
05:55to stand by the Constitution.
05:57Today some Venezuelans are tired of the crisis,
06:01they can't stand this crisis anymore,
06:04and they don't see any other solution than a military intervention from the United States.
06:08Would you be in favor?
06:10We Venezuelans have alternatives to build a solution,
06:13a political solution, a solution that will lead us to stability,
06:16governability and a free election.
06:18That is the lowest social cost.
06:20When we say they are tired, of course.
06:22When you have five months without water, in your case,
06:24when you don't have to feed your child,
06:25when you don't have a way to get to work because of public transportation,
06:28when there is no electricity, as in the case of the state of Zulia,
06:30in Maracaibo, for example,
06:33that the electricity comes three hours a day to a state,
06:36that only that state produced 1,300,000 barrels of oil a day.
06:40Imagine what it means for an economy,
06:42that amount today has three hours of electricity a day.
06:45Not only are Venezuelans tired, I must insist,
06:47of course we are going through an agonizing situation,
06:50a social catastrophe that Venezuela is experiencing today,
06:53but despite that, we are the majority, we are on the streets,
06:56we have been in each of the sectors of Venezuela,
06:59we have carried out the coalition of the whole country,
07:04also the international support,
07:06also the discontent in the armed forces,
07:08also the diplomatic support,
07:09so that option, the one that is better,
07:14the one that is more prompt, that limits the social cost
07:17and that generates governability and stability,
07:19we are not in love with a mechanism or an alternative,
07:22we are in love with Venezuela to be able to transform it.
07:24But the US military intervention is an option that you reject?
07:29Again, today, between 2017 and 2019,
07:3520,000 children died,
07:38according to a census of COVID under one year,
07:41due to malnutrition.
07:43Listen to the figure,
07:4420,000 children under one year,
07:46in less than two years,
07:48due to lack of food.
07:50We are looking for all the tools
07:52to achieve the cessation of usurpation,
07:54government transition and free elections.
07:56To polemize, of course,
07:58between a type of action,
08:01would not be fair today for Venezuelans.
08:04Today, the only intervention that exists in Venezuelan territory
08:07is that of Cuban military doing intelligence and counterintelligence,
08:10the presence of the ELN in Venezuela extracting gold
08:14to finance a paramilitary and guerrilla movement.
08:18For the president of the national parliament,
08:20for the president in charge of Venezuela,
08:22to ask the world for cooperation to achieve the transition,
08:26must be given the parameters of military emergency,
08:30to protect the citizen,
08:32to produce a democratic transition in Venezuela.
08:35Could you answer me specifically
08:37in relation to an American military intervention in Venezuela?
08:41I already answered you.
08:43What would be the ideal scenario, according to you,
08:46of transition of power?
08:48That a truly free election takes place as soon as possible,
08:53having recovered the institutions,
08:56in this case the electoral council,
08:58the arbiter that governs the elections in Venezuela,
09:01and that to have a truly free election
09:03there cannot be a dictator exercising functions.
09:06That means that a great agreement of transition
09:09without a change of power to have a truly free election.
09:12What happened with the humanitarian aid
09:14that remained on the borders of Venezuela?
09:17It was entering not in the necessary volumes
09:19to contain the emergency.
09:2125% of the population is in emergency.
09:24There are still important centers in Curacao,
09:27in Cúcuta, in Brazil.
09:30Additionally, the Red Cross is also managing
09:33to enter part of this aid,
09:35but it will not be enough to contain the emergency,
09:37unless we talk about the humanitarian channel.
09:40We have already attended 100,000 people at this time,
09:43but again, 100,000 people is only 3%
09:46of the people who need this aid.
09:49And what solution do you propose
09:51to fight poverty in Venezuela?
09:54Look, Venezuela is a country with immense potential
09:57in terms of resources and employment.
09:59We came to have very low levels of inequality.
10:03That is, there was access to opportunities.
10:06We must rescue the industry,
10:09we must rescue the private sector,
10:11legal security.
10:13Today in Venezuela there is a risk
10:15that you cannot be respected
10:17for your business.
10:19We need legal security,
10:21personal security,
10:23openness,
10:25the ability to invest privately,
10:27the recovery of the oil industry,
10:29the recovery of the agro-industry in Venezuela,
10:32access to goods and services,
10:34quality education that exists in Venezuela.
10:37Venezuela has a huge number of professionals
10:40who have been visiting the world.
10:43So I think there is a perfect formula
10:45to recover the country from poverty
10:47and support not only Venezuela,
10:49but also the region.
10:51And what is the concrete plan
10:53to rebuild the country later?
10:55How are you going to do in terms of economy
10:57to fight against inflation,
10:59to diversify the economy?
11:01Of course, Venezuela has,
11:03in this case, the oil lever
11:05to be able to quickly reinvest in Venezuela.
11:08We must reactivate the productive sector.
11:10For a long time,
11:12the center of large companies
11:14to control inflation must also control
11:16not only public spending,
11:18but also tax spending.
11:20We must recover,
11:22go again to 700,000 barrels,
11:24the same as in 1948,
11:26take it to 5,000,000 or 6,000,000 barrels of oil per day,
11:29diversify the economy,
11:31be able to reinvest in Venezuela
11:34and support the private company.
11:37And how are you going to get out
11:39of the dependence on oil?
11:41It is very simple.
11:43When it becomes a production lever,
11:45Venezuela has huge comparative advantages
11:47for climate,
11:49geographical location,
11:51beaches,
11:53diversity,
11:55and biosphere.
11:57We can even share those advantages
11:59of comparative and competitive
12:01important products
12:03for export.
12:05We need new personal security,
12:07access to goods and services,
12:09Venezuela must be ordered
12:11and exploited indiscriminately
12:13in the south of the country
12:15through the mining arc.
12:17We also have the possibility
12:19of being an important hub
12:21for aeronautics.
12:23We also have the possibility
12:25of the field.
12:27Fortunately,
12:29economic reconstruction in Venezuela
12:31does not worry us.
12:33Today, the penetration of the ELN,
12:35the amparazo,
12:37the regime of Maduro
12:39and drug trafficking
12:41are things that we have to overcome
12:43quickly.
12:45And in relation to security,
12:47Nicolás Badiero argues that you
12:49are a traitor to the country.
12:51Why are you still free?
12:53Because we are defending
12:55our constitution.
12:57I am President of the Parliament
12:59and the President-in-Chief of Venezuela
13:01according to the Constitution,
13:03Article 233.
13:05But here you can't record
13:07where we are. There is a danger
13:09of knowing where we are.
13:11Do you have to hide?
13:13The danger is that they rob you on the street
13:15for insecurity.
13:17Do you have to hide?
13:19No. I'm coming from Valencia,
13:21from a very popular market.
13:23We are in the Plaza de Toros,
13:25in the center of Valencia,
13:27the most popular place in the Carabob state.
13:29We had the presentation of the Plan País.
13:31We are now talking in our office
13:33in Miraflores.
13:35But we are in a situation of usurpation
13:37and dictatorship. And from here we go
13:39to a street activity.
13:41What is the plan now?
13:43What are you going to do?
13:45Reinforce what we have been doing.
13:47To overcome a dictatorship,
13:49there is no formula to generate a transition.
13:51There are elements and variables
13:53to control or variables to exercise.
13:55The majority,
13:57the international pressure,
13:59the control of assets,
14:01the control of Venezuelans,
14:03to talk to the armed forces,
14:05to remove political support.
14:07And we are doing everything.
14:09If we count each of those variables,
14:11more than 90% of the country
14:13decays.
14:15The dominant coalition,
14:17when we talk about Luis Ortega Díaz,
14:19when we talk about Hugo Carvajal,
14:21when we talk about Cristopher Figuera,
14:23when we talk about each of the military,
14:25when we talk internationally,
14:27we have seen the position
14:29that is fundamental in our constitution.
14:31We have seen deputies of PSUC
14:33incorporated even in the parliament.
14:35What should we do?
14:37Do all these options simultaneously
14:39to provoke the transition.
14:41Very soon we will have change in Venezuela
14:43and we will be able to see a truly free election
14:45in our country.