Maduro in The New York Times: Venezuela's President Blames Activists of Deaths, Calls for Dialogue and Peace

The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, published an opinion piece in the American newspaper, The New York Times, in which he calls for dialogue, diplomacy and peace in his country, and blames the opposition's activists for the more than 30 deaths which have happened during the protests against his government.

Under the title "Venezuela: A Call for Peace", the Venezuelan President assures that it's time for the government to use diplomacy and establish dialogue between the government and the opposition, acknowledging the recommendations made by UNASUR, dismissing the reports from international press which "distort" the reality of the country and assuring that the protestors against his administration and his policies barely represent 1 percent of the population.

In his intent to show a less hostile environment and against the repressive reality that since last Feb. 12 has been show by international agencies and social networks through videos filmed by activists, most of them students; Maduro assured that international institutions such as the United Nations and the World Bank have acknowledged the achievements of his government relating to lower poverty levels, improvements in the health and education systems and good investment projects that has government has made based on oil income.

Likewise, Maduro said that his government respects Venezuelan democracy, highlighting citizen participation in electoral processes which have granted a victory to the movement started by the late Hugo Chávez which have his government a victory over opposition candidates in 2013 with most of the votes in 255 out of 337 municipalities; with which he said: "Affirmations that Venezuela has a deficient democracy and that the current protests represent the dominant feeling are show to be lies by facts."

For the successor of Hugo Chávez, these protests against his government are representative of high-income sectors of the population who seek to impede the democratic progress which have benefited poor Venezuelans, assuring that the US government, who says they support the Venezuelan people, is truly only support the 1 percent of the people who seek to destabilize the country and drag the other 99 percent back to times where they were excluded from political life, only to benefit the elite which includes American companies.

Maduro accused the U.S. government of supporting the coup d'état in 2002, saying that currently, President Barack Obama's administration invests at least $5 million dollars per year to support the activities of the Venezuelan opposition and that the US Congress analyzes proposals to impose sanctions to his government over alleged acts of repression and human rights violations against the activists, who have expressed their inconformity with the Venezuelan government on the streets of Venezuela's main cities.

Finally, the Bolivarian leader assured that his government is open to dialogue, accepting recommendations from the Union of South American Nations to set up talks with the oppositions, and expressed his interest in reviving bilateral relations with the United States, suspended after a mutual expelling of diplomats.

Read the full article, "Venezuela: A Call for Peace" here.