The president of the National Assembly with an opposition majority elected in 2015, returned to Caracas on Thursday (June 18, 2026), after 8 years outside Venezuela. The deputy began conversations with the interim government about a political transition and the reformulation of the country’s electoral institutions.
Figuera met with Jorge Rodríguez, president of the Chavismo-controlled National Assembly and brother of interim president Delcy Rodríguez. The meeting was supported by the United States and marked the first public rapprochement between government and opposition representatives in almost 3 years.
Upon arriving at the airport, the congresswoman said she had traveled at the invitation of the US State Department. According to her, one of the priorities will be to work towards the formation of a credible CNE (National Electoral Council).
Figuera also stated that the negotiation will be conducted for the benefit of all candidates, without answering whether he had agreed on the initiative with .
The parties decided to form a joint technical and political table, with representatives from the government and opposition deputies elected for the period from 2015 to 2020. The group must define a work plan and a roadmap with verifiable steps.
The 2015 National Assembly communiqué establishes as priorities the reconstruction of democratic institutions, the strengthening of electoral bodies, the full restitution of political parties, guarantees for political actors and respect for freedom of expression.
On Instagram, Figuera said he participated in the meeting as a representative of the institution, and not the Primero Justicia party.
“My presence at this meeting is institutional and non-partisan. It is a step that I take in the face of adversity, convinced that Venezuela deserves all our dedication, commitment and dedication”he stated.
The congresswoman also met with John Barrett, chargé d’affaires at the United States Embassy in Venezuela. The State Department called the talks the first step in a process aimed at establishing a roadmap for a democratic transition.
“The cornerstone of any transition is inclusive dialogue”said spokesman Tommy Pigott. Washington expects meetings between Venezuelan parties and the interim government to continue in the coming weeks.
Role of María Corina Machado
Figuera’s return changes the dynamics of negotiations led by the opposition. Weeks earlier, the Unitary Platform, a group that brings together the main parties opposed to Chavismo, had chosen María Corina Machado to lead the conversations about calling elections.
According to the newspaper, members of the coalition and Machado’s allies were surprised by the trip. Sources interviewed by the newspaper interpret the movement as an attempt by Washington and Caracas to open another negotiating front, with an interlocutor other than the main opposition representative.
Henry Alviárez, leader of the Vente Venezuela party, said he was unaware of the terms of the conversations, but stated that the process allows for different participants and stages. Machado and the Unitary Platform defend the publication of an electoral calendar, the renewal of the CNE and the legalization of parties removed from disputes due to court decisions.
A 65-year-old doctor, Figuera left Venezuela in 2018 after receiving threats and suffering political persecution, according to AFPcited by . She obtained asylum in Spain and continued to preside over the delegated committee of the National Assembly elected in 2015.
Negotiations begin just over 5 months after the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by US forces, on January 3. Delcy Rodríguez temporarily took over the government after the operation. The temporary mandate completes 180 days on July 5, a limit established by the Venezuelan Constitution.
Opposition formed in 2015
The so-called 2015 opposition refers to the deputies elected that year to the National Assembly of Venezuela, when the opposition coalition won the majority of the Legislature. From then on, the group became the main institutional base of opposition to Nicolás Maduro’s government, amid disputes with the Supreme Court of Justice over the validity of its acts and the functioning of Parliament.
After the end of the formal mandate and the 2020 legislative election, not recognized by the opposition, some of these parliamentarians maintained the demand for political continuity of the 2015 Assembly, which also began to act from exile and participate in negotiation initiatives on a possible democratic transition in the country.
Read more:
