Caracas Chronicles

I don’t know what is happening inside CNE. I think very few people know. The presumption of bad faith runs so strongly in both directions, it’s almost impossible to peel away the truth from the rumors from the wishes from the spin from the slurs. I can’t pretend to understand why CNE acts the way it does, not from a distance.

I do know that the climate of opinion that is gripping the country at this moment is obviously conducive to violence, and that all sides need to do what it takes to help defuse the tension as soon as possible.

The opposition has a clear interest in protecting the signatures of those who really did sign and CNE has said it intends to implement a procedure to do just that. The opposition should welcome the chance to prove that its signatures are valid. If they are not, and a million of them really are invalid, CNE needs to demonstrate that publicly in a way no one can argue with.

So long as international observers remain part of the process, it would be best for everyone to avoid maximalist positions and seek workable compromises. The road is long, but it is the road. Cynicism is the enemy, common sense needs to prevail.

(God, I sound like a politico.)