Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro was expected to sit down on Sunday with members of the opposition and foreign mediators, a gesture his foes suspect is a time-wasting tactic to ease pressure on the unpopular socialist leader, Reuters reported. The opposition Democratic Unity coalition has stepped up protests since authorities scuttled its push for a referendum this year on Maduro's rule, which polls showed he would have lost, triggering a presidential election. Critics say 17 years of socialist rule have wrecked the OPEC nation's economy and crushed democracy, while the government says a U.S.-backed elite is seeking a coup. Maduro has said he will personally attend a meeting, expected to take place later on Sunday in Caracas, while coalition secretary-general Jesus Torrealba said he would represent its nearly 30 different political organizations. Also due to attend were a Vatican envoy, representatives of the Unasur regional bloc, and three former heads of state from Spain, Panama and the Dominican Republic. Torrealba, in a blog, said top of the opposition's agenda would be resuscitating the plebiscite, freeing political prisoners, helping victims of Venezuela's "humanitarian crisis", and demanding respect for the opposition-led legislature.
