What is the solution to Venezuela's crisis?

World
Europe

02:40

Venezuela has turned out to be another battleground for geopolitical influence between the U.S. and Russia.

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president in January. The standoff has drawn in major world powers, with both President Nicolas Maduro and Guaido receiving support from rival countries.

Guaido vowed to bring changes to the country and reverse the economic recession. But last week saw several setbacks for the opposition leader, who's now considering asking the U.S. for military intervention.

CGTN senior correspondent Tian Wei spoke to a group of panelists, who shared their insights on the situation in Venezuela.

Jiang Shixue, director of the Center for Latin American Studies at Shanghai University, emphasized that both economic and military interventions are not good for Venezuela. The only viable solution is political dialogue.

"China is criticizing the U.S. for offering all kinds of help to the people of Venezuela. Everybody can understand this simple logic. Maduro said 'we could sit down and talk,' and Guaido said 'I'm not talking to you and you need to step down.' Regime change is the only purpose for the U.S. and Guaido. But that is not a solution to the crisis," he said.

Maricruz Magowan, vice president of the National Economists Club, said that Maduro's government is legitimate, but that the president is doing a bad job. He argued that sanctions were imposed because people are starving.

When it comes to a solution to the Venezuelan crisis, Magowan believes that Venezuelans should determine the destiny of their own country.

Meanwhile, international relations and security analyst Mark Sleboda expressed that the U.S. needs to stop its active efforts to take down Maduro, and stop sanctions. The Venezuelan people are capable of fixing their problems by themselves, the expert noted.

Meanwhile Phil Gunson, senior analyst from the International Crisis Group, held the opposite view that Venezuela needs help, but military intervention is disastrous. They need serious negotiations rather than dialogue, particularly a de-institutionalization of the country under international supervision is needed.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)