Minister Rui Costa, of the Civil House, said on Tuesday (3) that Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González may seek asylum in Brazil after the Venezuelan Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered his arrest. The country’s prosecutor’s office – controlled by the Chavista regime – issued an order against the politician for allegedly committing six crimes linked to the election with strong evidence of fraud that reelected Nicolás Maduro just over a month ago.
Costa said that Brazil has a strong tradition of granting political asylum to those who consider themselves persecuted and also to foreigners seeking refuge in the country, in an operation that he acknowledges is costly to the Brazilian public coffers.
“In the specific case [de González] It is clear that the Brazilian embassy and the president of the Republic will be the ones to take a position. However, I believe that, following tradition, Brazil welcomes all those who seek a space to live in peace,” said the minister in an interview with GloboNews.
According to him, Brazil is one of the countries that receives the most Venezuelans “seeking” to live here – he avoids talking about fleeing. According to the Ministry of Justice, almost four thousand citizens crossed the border fleeing the Chavista regime after the July 28 election alone.
In the entire month of July, 9,331 Venezuelans crossed the border through Pacaraima, according to the Federal Police. In June, there were 8,602. Data from the Ministry of Justice show a daily flow of 273 Venezuelans entering Brazil between July 29 and August 11.
Rui Costa also stated that Brazil will not recognize Maduro’s reelection or González’s alleged victory by the opposition until the voting records are officially presented by the Venezuelan government. Last week, the country’s judiciary confirmed the result and declared the documents confidential.
“No reports appeared that proved either the victory of one or the other. [A repressão] “It is not good for the Venezuelan people, who are going through a difficult time. Brazil will continue to seek a mediation solution. Historically, it has not been a supporter of intervention and forceful measures by one country over another,” the minister said.
He also stressed that Venezuela needs to present the documents to achieve a level of normality that will allow the country to once again interact with other nations in the world. Costa, however, ignored the criticism that Maduro’s government made of Brazil after the Venezuelan courts confirmed his reelection.
Two weeks ago, the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, provoked Brazil and said “listen, Mr. Celso Amorim” when defending the country’s sovereignty against criticism from “the entire world” demanding the public release of the results to assess the recognition of the dictator’s victory.
“It is important to say that the TSJ ruling [Tribunal Superior de Justiça] It is not only in Venezuela where the higher jurisdiction of the electoral room is located, but also in Brazil – you heard, Mr. Celso Amorim –, in Mexico, in the United States of America and throughout the world. There is a higher jurisdiction”, he said.
The specific mention of the three countries is due to the joint movement that pressured the Maduro regime to publicly release the results of the vote held at the end of July. Brazil and Mexico, together with Colombia, signed a joint letter pressuring the dictator to make the electoral system transparent.
The Brazilian government has not officially commented on the Venezuelan court’s decision. The position, until now, was to continue pressuring Maduro to present the documents, and Lula said he would not recognize the dictator’s victory without an audit of the documents.
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