by Jose Aguiar
CARACAS, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The outcome of the upcoming gubernatorial elections in Venezuela will determine the direction the national dialogue between the government and opposition will take, political observer Miguel Contreras said on Sunday.
Next Sunday, over 18 million eligible voters around the country will be able to elect the next governor of their state.
The results will define "which players and political forces (the government) has to sit down and dialogue with, so the talks depend on that event," Contreras, a professor of sociology at the Central University of Venezuela (UCV), told Xinhua.
Delegations from the two sides last met on Sept. 13 in the Dominican Republic in a bid to resume negotiations that reached a dead end in December 2016.
The coalition of opposition parties, known as the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), walked away from the Vatican-brokered talks, because the government would not meet its demands, including releasing imprisoned opposition leaders convicted of crimes such as fomenting violent demonstrations that left scores dead and destroyed public property. The MUD considers them to be political prisoners.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro believes the MUD's reluctance to negotiate is dictated by Washington as part of a larger conservative strategy to oust his ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
At this point, said Contreras, whether or how the talks resume "is contingent on what happens on Oct. 15."
If the PSUV wins a majority of the gubernatorial races, "the dialogue will focus more on economic than political matters," since it is the economy that most concerns the ruling party, said Contreras.
"If the opposition wins a great number of governorships, the dialogue is going to be centered on politics, not economics," he said.
Overall, the elections will "define both the opposition and the government's areas of influence," he added.
If the PSUV snaps up many states, said Contreras, it would signal the "strengthening of its political power internally," especially following the recent election of members to the National Constituent Assembly (ANC), a government initiative that drew more than 8 million voters.
It would also mean the party stands a good chance of winning general elections in 2018, "because it would eliminate the opposition's electoral chances," said Contreras.
According to the National Electoral Council (CNE), a total of 197 candidates from both parties are running for governors.
