The government has no intention of recognizing Edmundo González as the elected president of Venezuela, as proposed by the PP and which the Congress will probably approve today – with the votes in favour of the PNV – not because he does not believe himself to be the legitimate winner of the elections, but because he is involved in another more fundamental operation with his European partners and some very important Latin American countries like Brazil and Colombia which are looking for a way out for Nicolas Maduro to leave power and allow a negotiated exit. From China, where he spoke for the first time with microphones on this issue that has become the center of the national debate at the end of a three-day trip, Sánchez was particularly clear. He did not speak openly about Maduro leaving power, but it is clear from his words that this is what they are trying to negotiate. “The Spanish government has requested the publication of the minutes of the elections in Venezuela. “We do not recognize Maduro's victory and we are working for unity within the European Union that leaves room for mediation by the end of the year so that we can find a solution that reflects the democratic will expressed in the elections of Venezuela. people,” Sánchez said.
The end-of-year deadline is relevant because the new president is expected to take office in January. Until then, as various government sources explain these days, it makes no sense to recognize González because the priority is to negotiate with the Maduro regime so that it recognizes its defeat and leaves power. If you don't do it before January, the time will come to make a decision, but many actors are involved at all levels to try to do so. This is the consensus that exists within the European Union. and to which Sanchez was referring.
This is why the Executive rejects the idea of the opposition – and the PNV – to recognize González from now on, because it considers it an unnecessary and hasty act. Within the EU, there is also a lot of suspicion about this measure after the failure of the operation, then led by Spain, recognize Juan Guaidó as interim president, something that has had no real effect. Sánchez took the opportunity to criticise the PP's attitude on this issue: “the opposition is doing what it always does, which is to say no to everything the government does, no matter what. If we ask for asylum, why do we ask for asylum, if we don't ask for asylum, why don't we ask for asylum. If a person asks for asylum and we say no, what would have been the justified reaction in that case of the opposition and of Spanish society as a whole? Asylum continues to be a gesture of humanity towards people who suffer persecution and repression,” he concluded.
Sánchez ends his three-day trip to China convinced that he has managed to avoid a trade war with the EU that could greatly harm Spain, because Beijing threatens to impose tariffs on Spanish pork in retaliation for the EU's plans to impose tariffs on Chinese electric cars. At the end of the trip, Sánchez went so far as to say that Spain was rethinking its position on the issue – it voted in June in favor of tariffs on Chinese cars – and that all European partners should do the same. “All EU members and the Commission must reconsider our position. We do not need another trade war. We must seek an agreement between the European Commission and China within the WTO framework.” “We are all reconsidering our position,” Sánchez said. “As for the pork sector, we expressed our surprise to the Chinese authorities about the potential actions involved in a sector that has nothing to do with the automotive industry. The Chinese government is very aware of the value of the Spanish pork sector. The negotiation remains open. The pork sector can be assured that we are defending its interests,” he insisted.
The president, in response to a question from Chinese official television in Spanish, wanted to please his guests and clearly positioned himself in favor of Chinese electric cars, whose entry the EU wants to prevent in an initiative that until now had the support of Spain. The Chinese journalist asked him if he had tried an electric car from that country, and Sánchez replied: “I had the opportunity to drive a Chinese electric vehicle and it has an honorary license plate. We, the European brands, must learn from Chinese brands. As I told President Xi privately, Spain wants to play a positive role in building bridges. Trade wars are not good for us. I am convinced that together we will reach a consensual solution. “I appreciate the constructive attitude of the Chinese authorities.”
In recent days, the opposition has harshly attacked the president because he told the PSOE Federal Committee that his government would continue with its program “with or without the help of the legislative branch.” The president and the entire government insist that there will be no electoral progress even if the budgets are canceled, because the executive is determined to continue, but today he tried to explain or qualify these statements. “This government, out of conviction and necessity, because we are a minority parliamentary coalition, is constantly building bridges with all the parliamentary groups to carry out the reforms. We have also achieved this thanks to social peace, and I take the labor reform or the pension reform as examples. With the greatest respect for Parliament and maximum collaboration with the groups, we are going to build bridges. But I also say that the Spanish government will not abandon its agenda based on greater competitiveness, more jobs, a better state of well-being, more housing, action for peace in Ukraine and the Middle East or a gender equality agenda. All of this overlaps with Parliament, but there is also the Government's own action,” he insisted, emphasizing that he is not thinking about any electoral advance.
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The president believes that even if his majority weakens and he does not have budgets, he can move forward and develop his management to the maximum. In addition, in La Moncloa they are convinced that even if the budgets fall, which is currently the most likely option, not all the reforms that the government presents to Congress should be canceled. It will be necessary to negotiate one by one.
Sánchez also rejects the approach of some barons of his party such as the Aragonese Javier Lambán, who assures that his policy on Catalonia is very good for the PSC, which clearly won the last elections and managed to return to the Generalitat, but is sinking the PSOE in the rest of Spain. “I have always defended that we should all draw the consequences of what happened in 2017 so as not to cultivate territorial conflicts between communities. We are doing it, with tough measures such as pardons, amnesty. And Catalan society itself approves of these policies. What translation does this have in the rest of Spain? I am convinced that what is good for Catalonia is good for the rest of the country. This dialectic according to which what is good for some is bad for others has brought us to 2017. Catalonia represents 20% of the country. Today, September 11 – the same day – there is a president in Catalonia, Salvador Illa, who is committed to coexistence among Catalans and the integration of Catalonia into a common project that is Spain. “This is one of the systemic changes that this government has implemented and we will see it over time,” insisted Sánchez, who arrives in Spain this Thursday after four days out of the country and will face a very complex and very political reality different from the comfort that it conveys in his international agenda.