Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador and other nations expressed concern about the lack of free elections
The government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) remained silent about the veto of María Corina Machado, Nicolás Maduro's opposition leader, in the Venezuelan elections. Other South American countries such as Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Ecuador condemned the nonelection of the former MP. The PT member is a historic ally of the Venezuelan leader.
On Friday (January 26, 2024), the TSJ (Supreme Court of Venezuela) banned María Corina Machado from holding public office for the next 15 years. The decision prevents Corina from participating in the presidential elections that will take place in the second half of 2024, the date of which has not yet been set. She won the opposition primaries in October 2023 and ran against Maduro.
Corina explained that Maduro and “his criminal system” had chosen the worst path: fraudulent elections. “That won’t happen,” he said. Learn how Venezuela's Supreme Court indicted Maduro's opponents in this report.
O Power360 contacted the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs this Sunday (January 28, 2024) by email, telephone and message via WhatsApp to know the official position of the government of President Lula on the decision of the Supreme Court of Venezuela. Itamaraty confirmed receipt of the request. However, he did not provide any comment till the publication of this report. The room remains open.
LULA AND MADURO
In May 2023, Maduro was in Brazil and was the only head of state of the twelve countries invited to the meeting with the presidents of South American countries to hold a bilateral meeting with the PT member outside the event. He was received with the honors of the head of state.
At that time, the Brazilian president declared together with the Venezuelan: “It is in your hands, comrade, to build your narrative and turn this game around so that we can finally win and Venezuela can once again become a sovereign country where only you people can through free choice decide who will rule this country. That's all that needs to be done. And then our opponents will have to apologize for the damage they caused in Venezuela.” View.
Two months later, in July, Lula met with Latin American leaders, with French President Emmanuel Macron and with a European Union Foreign Affairs representative during the Celac (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Summit with the EU. It was in Brussels (Belgium).
Lula and other Latin American leaders joined Europeans in calling for a fair and transparent electoral process in the country, in accordance with applicable laws and international treaties.
In October 2023, the Brazilian president spoke to Maduro on the phone. The topic: elections in Venezuela in 2024. In addition to negotiations with the USA to end the sanctions then imposed on the country, Lula also requested information on possible agreements between Maduro's government and the opposition. The information was published by Planalto in a note (full PDF 97 kB).
Previously, the Venezuelan President was in Brazil in 2015 to attend the inauguration of former President Dilma Rousseff (PT). In 2019, he was banned from entering the country by former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) he broke off relations with his neighbor. However, on December 30, 2022, Bolsonaro himself revoked the decree that barred members of the Maduro government from entering Brazilian territory.
Since taking office, Lula has resumed diplomatic relations with Venezuela. In January, the government reopened the Brazilian embassy in Caracas, Venezuela's capital. Special presidential adviser for international affairs Celso Amorim visited the city in March and met with Maduro and members of the opposition. At the time, he said he saw a “democracypromoting climate.”
REACTIONS IN LATIN AMERICA
Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador and Paraguay condemned the decision of the Supreme Court of Venezuela that upheld the ineligibility of María Corina Machado.
Read what countries have said about the veto:
The State Department said it was monitoring the situation in Venezuela with “concern.” In a note he regrets the decision to veto Corina. Here is the full text (PDF 157 kB).
The Foreign Ministry said the Venezuelan court's decision contradicted Barbados' agreements. Here is the full text (PDF 271 kB).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility rejected the Supreme Court's decision against Maduro's opponents.
The Idea group (Democratic Initiative of Spain and America), made up of 37 former presidents, condemned Corina's veto. He also announced that he recognized his political leadership in the Venezuelan elections. Here is the full letter (PDF 920 kB).
Read the list of signatories:
- Mario Abdo, former president of Paraguay;
- Óscar Arias, former president of Costa Rica;
- José Maria Aznar, former president of Spain;
- Nicolás Ardito, former president of Panama;
- Felipe Calderón, former president of Mexico;
- Rafael Angel Calderón, former president of Costa Rica;
- Laura Chinchilla, former president of Costa Rica;
- Alfredo Cristiani, former president of El Salvador;
- Iván Duque, former president of Colombia;
- Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico;
- Federico Franco, former president of Paraguay;
- Eduardo Frei, former president of Chile;
- Lucio Gutiérrez, former president of Ecuador;
- Osvaldo Hurtado, former president of Ecuador;
- Luis Alberto Lacalle, former president of Uruguay;
- Guilherme Lasso, former president of Ecuador;
- Carlos Mesa, former president of Bolivia;
- Ernesto Férez, former president of Panama;
- Mauricio Macri, former president of Argentina;
- Jamil Mahuad, former president of Ecuador;
- Lenin Moreno, former president of Ecuador;
- Mireya Moscoso, former president of Panama;
- Andrés Pastrana, former president of Colombia;
- Sebastián Piñera, former president of Chile;
- Jorge Tugo, former president of Bolivia;
- Miguel Ángel, former president of Costa Rica;
- Luis Guillermo, former president of Costa Rica;
- Álvaro Uribe, former president of Colombia;
- Juan Carlos, former president of Paraguay.
USA IS CONSIDERING SANCTIONS
In October, the United States agreed to ease trade sanctions against Venezuela's oil sector if the country holds free and supervised presidential elections in 2024.
Now, following the announcement of María Corina Machado's ineligibility, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller explained that the Venezuelan Supreme Court's decision “contradicts the commitment of Nicolás Maduro's representatives to organize fair presidential elections in 2024.”
TIRES
The 60yearold President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, heads an autocratic regime with no guarantees for basic freedoms. For example, it keeps people in prison for “political crimes.” There are also limitations described in OAS (Organization of American States) reports on the “illegitimate appointment” of the National Electoral Council by an illegitimate National Assembly and the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights (as of October 2022, November 2022 and March 2023).