03-04-2014: Latin American Weekly Report

The news that the Vatican has considered appointing a ‘facilitator’ for a dialogue between the government of President Nicolás Maduro and the opposition has made headlines — some attributing the initiative to Maduro, others to the Vatican and yet others to the Venezuelan opposition. The delegation from the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) left Venezuela without spelling out exactly what it had achieved, leaving this and much else to off-the-record or second-hand versions. Maduro insists that the opposition has no real will to dialogue — and at least one wing of the opposition is clearly determined to keep up the pressure.