Venezuela: The Deal These Two Rejected: LL + TSJ for No RR

Sources with knowledge of the negotiations have revealed to Caracas Chronicles, exclusively, the outline proposal José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero brought to Leopoldo López cell in Ramo Verde. The deal would have committed the opposition to desisting from its call for a recall referendum, waiting instead for 2018 presidential elections, in return for the MUD’s wish-list, which ended up being whittled down to:

- Agreeing to free political prisoners

- A reform to expand the Supreme Tribunal’s Constitutional Chamber from seven magistrates to fifteen, with the opposition appointing seven new magistrates, and an eighth being agreed between the two sides.

The proposal was vigorously rejected,first, by Henrique Capriles (whose position is not always necessarily aligned with his party, Primero Justicia) who has become the strongest advocate of a recall in 2016 at all costs. Other parties, such as Manuel Rosales’ Un Nuevo Tiempo, were more open to this deal .... http://www.caracaschronicles.com