Apparently, an Spanish Ex-Prime Minister: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was trying to mediate between Nicky and the opposition regarding the referendum. it's said that the deal was:
Agreeing to free political prisoners
A reform to expand the Supreme Tribunal’s Constitutional Chamber from seven magistrates to fifteen, with the opposition appointing seven new magistrates, and an eighth being agreed between the two sides.
And all this in exchange for the opposition to stop demanding a referendum.
Capriles-Radonski, the closest thing the opposition has to a leader, told Zapatero to go fuck himself, so guess what Zapatero did? he went to visit Leopoldo Lopez in prison to show him the deal. Lopez's response was the same as Capriles, even better:
Since the deal didn’t have unanimous MUD support, Rodríguez Zapatero then sought to leverage Leopoldo López’s blessing, turning up in his cell in Ramo Verde alongside Jorge Rodríguez. López refused to talk to Zapatero in Rodríguez’s presence. One on one with the former Spanish Prime Minister, he backed Capriles’s position, ending any possibility of a deal.
Our understanding was that Leopoldo’s rejection of Zapatero’s proposal was categorical, telling him he’d rather be the last political prisoner to come out of jail instead of bargaining a 2016 constitutional change of government. As Zapatero was leaving, Jorge Rodriguez skulked around to Leopoldo’s cell.
I still think Leopoldo Lopez is an idiot. As for Capriles, I'm ambivalent about him. But I think that this time, they made the right call. After all:
A) There AREN'T supposed to be any political prisoners, right? RIGHT?
B) "A more balanced Supreme Court"? Last December there was an election and the opposition won a super-majority at the National Assembly, The government did everything it could to curtail the Assembly's power. So, why exactly should the government be trusted?
What's so typically Venezuelan? the deal proposal is laughable, that's what passes for negotiations around here. If all Zapatero could get from the government was that, it's obvious Nicky won't budge either. OTOH the fact that they agreed to negotiate at all means that they don't have the full support of the Military.
But seriously, if that ever changes, or if you need something and there's a way to get it to you (I know the latter is a big problem too), let us know.