Venezuelan and Brazilian Presidents Nicolas Maduro (left) and Lula in Brasilia, May 29, 2023. EVARISTO SA / AFP
He had not set foot in Brazil for eight years. After being treated as an outcast by far-right former Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is making his first official visit to Brasilia since 2015 and intends to refresh ties between the two nations.
“Today begins a new era in relations between our countries, between our peoples,” said Mr. Maduro on Monday, May 29, arriving in the Brazilian capital on Sunday evening, May 28. The socialist leader is due to attend a summit bringing together South American heads of state on Tuesday.
“Venezuela has always been an exceptional partner for [notre pays]. But due to the political situation and the mistakes made, [M. Maduro] “I spent eight years not coming to Brazil,” Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said after a face-to-face meeting with his counterpart. “It’s Maduro’s return” to the South American stage, added the left-wing president of Brazil, for whom the resumption of relations between the two countries is a “historic” moment.
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Lula’s criticism of Europe
These ties did not exist under the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro between 2019 and 2023, who described the Venezuelan socialist regime as a “dictatorship” and recognized opponent Juan Guaido as interim president, as did some fifty countries including the United States and several European nations.
“How could a continent that has lived democracy so fully, through the founding of the European Union, accept the idea of an impostor being president? [du Venezuela] just because he didn’t like the chosen one? asked Lula on Monday.
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During his first term as Brazilian President (2003-2010), the former metalworker had close ties with Hugo Chávez, Nicolas Maduro’s predecessor and mentor.
The aim of Tuesday’s summit in Brasilia is to renew dialogue between South American countries and find a “common vision” in areas such as health, infrastructure, energy, environment and the fight against organized crime.
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