Lula and Petro insist on publication of the minutes in Venezuela

Brazil and Colombia distance themselves from the government of Nicolás Maduro, and demand the publication “transparent” of the voting records of the July 28 elections to give “credibility” to the electoral results announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE), which were endorsed this Thursday by the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ).

After two days (23/24 August) of telephone conversations on the presidential elections in Venezuela, the leaders of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvaand from Colombia, Gustavo Petroissued a joint statement in which they called for the “transparent publication of data broken down” by polling stations, which can be verified. This, in order to give credibility to the electoral process in which, according to the official announcement, Maduro would have been reelected president for the period 2025-2031.

“Both presidents remain convinced that the credibility of the electoral process can only be restored through the transparent publication of the disaggregated data “by electoral section and verifiable,” says the document signed by both leaders, main allies in the region of the Venezuelan government.

With 27 days to go before the presidential elections, the CNE has not published the voting records as required by electoral laws, while the opposition, led by María Corina Machado, published 83% of the vote counted by witnesses and members of the tables, which give a victory with more than seven million votes to the diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia.

JOINT DECLARATION OF BRAZIL AND COLOMBIA

Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Gustavo Petro hold on-the-day (23 and 24/8) telephone conversations about the quest of the presidential elections in Venezuela.

Both presidents remain convinced that…

— Lula (@LulaOficial) August 24, 2024

Brazil and Colombia insist on dialogue

Lula and Petro, who proposed the repetition of the presidential elections in the middle of the month, stressed the need for a «peaceful dialogue» to normalize the political crisis currently facing Venezuela. In addition, they called on those “involved” to avoid “resorting to acts of violence and repression.” According to the Victims Monitor, at least 23 murders by firearms were recorded in the country in the context of demonstrations; in addition to more than 1,674 arbitrary arrests, including 107 adolescents, documented by the Penal Forum.

«The political normalization of Venezuela requires the recognition that There is no lasting alternative to peaceful dialogue and democratic coexistence “in diversity,” stressed the leftist presidents, who, as witnesses of the Barbados Accords, signed in October 2023, and the main interested parties in the “political stability of Venezuela and the region,” reiterated their willingness to “facilitate understanding” between the government and the opposition.

Both countries stressed that they take note of the decision of the Supreme Court, which validated Maduro’s victory, even without presenting results, in a process that was rejected by the opposition and the international community.

They also reiterated that they will continue to await the publication by the CNE of the “minutes broken down by voting section,” while emphasizing the commitments that both parties assumed last October, “whose spirit of transparency must be respected”.

Finally, they expressed their opposition to the application of “unilateral sanctions” as an instrument of pressure on the Maduro government. “Unilateral sanctions are contrary to international law and harm the population of the sanctioned countries, especially the most vulnerable groups,” the statement said.