27 de agosto 2024
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Colombian president Gustavo Petro declared on Tuesday, August 27, that “at least” his government doesn’t drag down “the people’s human rights,” as his Nicaraguan equivalent Daniel Ortega does. Ortega had disparaged him the day before, accusing him of defending the interests of the US government in Latin America by refusing to recognize the results of the Venezuelan elections.
“Daniel Ortega called us [Petro and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil] ‘sycophants,’ just because we want a peaceful, negotiated, and democratic solution in Venezuela,” expressed the Colombian leader on his social media account.
On Monday, August 26, Ortega stated that he sees Gustavo Petro “competing” with Brazil’s elected leader Lula to “represent” the United States in Latin America.
“Petro – What can I say to Petro? Poor Petro, Poor Petro. I see Petro like he’s competing with Lula to see which leader will represent the yankees in Latin America,” Ortega declared during a virtual summit with the heads of state of ALBA, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of our America.
“That’s how I see Petro, but poor Petro logically doesn’t have the strength that Brazil has,” added Nicaragua’s authoritarian ruler, who criticized his colleagues for refusing to recognize the “reelection” of Ortega’s ally, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in highly questioned elections on July 28.
On August 24, Lula and Petro both insisted on the need to disclose the Venezuelan voting reports “itemized by precinct.” Their insistence followed the declaration of Venezuela’s Supreme Court certifying Maduro’s victory.
“Both presidents remain convinced that the credibility of the electoral process can only be reestablished through the transparent publication of detail and verifiable data,” stated a joint declaration from both countries.
Lula and Petro agreed on a common position regarding the Venezuelan electoral process following brief telephone conversations on August 23 and 24, according to information released by the Brazilian office of the Presidency.
The two heads of state reaffirmed that “political normalization for Venezuela” would need to involve “the recognition that there’s no long-lasting alternative to peaceful dialogue and democratic co-existence in diversity.”
They called on “all those involved to avoid turning to acts of violence and repression.”
On the other hand, Lula and Petro “noted” the decision of Venezuela’s Supreme Court to validate Maduro’s supposed victory in the July 28 presidential elections. The true results of the voting have been questioned by a large part of the national and international community.
The two presidents reiterated that they “continue awaiting” the National Electoral Council’s publication of “the itemized voting results, polling place by polling place.”
Venezuela’s Electoral Council proclaimed Maduro the winner without disclosing any detailed results. Meanwhile, the largest opposition coalition, the United Democratic Platform, published their copies of the official tally sheets apparently demonstrating that their candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia actually won the election by a large margin.
The declaration from Brazil and Colombia had been expected, following an August 24 press statement confirming that eleven other countries of the Americas (Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, United States, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic y Uruguay) rejected the Venezuelan Supreme Court’s endorsement of Maduro’s win.
The governments of these eleven countries cast doubt on the decision of the Venezuelan court, warning of its “lack of independence and impartiality.”
Nonetheless, Brazil and Colombia didn’t enter into a critique of the Supreme Court’s ruling. Instead, they insisted that “their channels of communication with those involved remain open,” and reinforced their “willingness to facilitate understanding between them.”
This article was published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by Havana Times. To get the most relevant news from our English coverage delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to The Dispatch.
