Brazil, Colombia and Mexico step up efforts to resolve electoral crisis in Venezuela

Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have asked for the publication of information on the July 28 elections in Venezuela, and on Friday they increased the pressure by proposing that President Nicolás Maduro and his main opponent, Edmundo González, meet, he told Reuters a diplomatic source close to the negotiations.

The governments of those three nations want Maduro and Gonzalez to meet without opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, the source in Brasilia added.

On Thursday, the three countries sent a joint statement In this document, without referring to the diplomatic efforts made, they once again appeal for the “public disclosure of the data broken down by voting table”.

They stressed that the controversies over the electoral process must be resolved “through institutional channels” and that the “fundamental principle of popular sovereignty must be respected through impartial verification of the results.”

In this regard, Maduro said on Friday that the joint declaration was “very good.” He also said that he spoke with the president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Da Silva, 15 days ago and that he maintains permanent conversations with his advisor Celso Amorim and the foreign minister, Mauro Vieira.

He also warned the US presidential candidates that if Venezuela becomes destabilized, the “consequences would be very serious” for the United States and the world, and asked them not to act with “hatred and improvisation.”

Meanwhile, leaders of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the United States Congress and legislative bodies across Europe condemned the Venezuelan government’s handling of the elections, according to a statement seen by Reuters, an unprecedented show of unity aimed at pressuring Caracas to release the full count.

For his part, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Friday on his X account that from his “position as a ruler” he should “respect Venezuela’s self-determination.”

“I am seeking diplomatic and political avenues to stop, through dialogue, a humanitarian catastrophe in our sister country (…) A humanitarian catastrophe in Venezuela becomes a humanitarian catastrophe in Colombia,” he added.

At least 2.8 million Venezuelans live in Colombia, part of a wave of migration of almost 8 million people fleeing the political and economic crisis in the oil-producing country.

CNE confirms Maduro’s victory

The CNE confirmed Maduro’s victory on Friday by releasing a second bulletin, after the original one issued early Monday morning, with 96.87% of the voting records completed.

Maduro obtained 6.4 million votes or 51.95%, while Gonzalez obtained 5.3 million votes or 43.18%, according to the president of the Council, Elvis Amoroso, reading the bulletin.

The opposition says its tally of about 90% of the votes shows Gonzalez with more than double the support of the president, a level similar to independent polls before the election.

Maduro and eight other former candidates attended the event, but Gonzalez, a 74-year-old former diplomat whom Maduro has called a coward and said should be behind bars, did not attend.

“I hope that this matter (in the Supreme Court) is not used as a way for the CNE to hide behind the robes of the magistrates,” said Enrique Márquez, one of the former candidates cited in court.

For his part, Celso Amorim, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs and was in Venezuela during the elections on behalf of President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, said in an interview with RedeTV! on Thursday evening that the Brazilian government is “disappointed” by the delay in publishing the minutes.

“I think that, in fact, depending on everything that has already happened, from the entire political framework, there is an expectation that Venezuela can prove, that the Venezuelan government can prove the vote it claims to have had,” Amorim said.

“The question is whether the counting actually corresponds to the minutes, so they have to show the minutes,” added the former foreign minister.

Attacks

Vente Venezuela, Machado’s movement, said on Friday on its X account that in the early hours of the morning six “hooded and unidentified men” subdued security guards. They threatened them and proceeded to graffiti them.breaking down doors and taking equipment.”

Delsa Solórzano, from the opposition campaign command, said they presume the men were looking for the voting records held by the opposition coalition. The documentation is not in the two-story house that Vente Venezuela, Machado’s movement, occupies in eastern Caracas.

Lawyer Perkins Rocha, from the command, said that the unknown men were at the place for about two hours and gagged the three guards.

At least four laptops, five televisions and the security camera server were stolen from the opposition movement’s headquarters, said a member of the command who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry in Caracas described as “serious” and “ridiculous” the statements made by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday, who said that González was the winner of the elections.

“(Blinken) intends to assume the role of the Venezuelan Electoral Power, demonstrating that the Government of the United States is at the forefront of the coup d’état that is intended against Venezuela, promoting a violent agenda against the Venezuelan people and their institutions,” said Foreign Minister Yván Gil.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Friday described Blinken’s statement as “excessive.”

“With all due respect, what the State Department did yesterday was excessive. I apologize to Mr. (Secretary of State Antony) Blinken, but that is not their responsibility, they are overstepping their bounds,” López Obrador said during his daily press conference.

Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Uruguay said Friday that Gonzalez had won a majority of votes, while Peruvian President Dina Boluarte said there had been “electoral fraud” in Venezuela.

Maduro and his allies in the armed forces are denouncing an alleged coup attempt within Venezuelan territory. The president said Thursday that more than 1,200 protesters have been arrested and that another 1,000 are being sought.

[Con información de Reuters]

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