The obstacles imposed by the Nicolás Maduro regime to the registration of the opposition candidacy for the presidential elections of July 28 have provoked the rejection of a large part of the international community, including Colombia and Brazil, considered political allies of the Chavista president, who in separate statements expressed their “concern” about what has been happening.
In fact, the tone used by Caracas to criticize the statements from Bogotá and Brasilia opens the door to tensions that have not been seen since when President Gustavo Petro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva assumed power.
“The right-wing governments and the cowardly left are not capable of condemning the coups or maneuvers that threaten peace. They remain silent in a complicit manner,” said Maduro in a veiled reference to his counterparts. To which he added that Vente Venezuela, the movement of the disqualified María Corina Machado, was “terrorist.”
At night, Petro responded in X: “There is no cowardly left, there is the probability of, through deepening democracy, changing the world. Chávez's magic was to propose democracy and change in the world. Today's revolution is: transforming the world by deepening democracy.”
At the end of the day, the candidate supported by the disqualified Maria Corina MachadoCorina Yoris, could not register due to failures in the electoral platform, so she made her way to the nomination of two candidates, one of whom, Manuel Rosales, awakens among large sectors more reservations than certainties about his real character as opposition leader (see alternate note).
The rejection of all these obstacles by the neighboring chancelleries, particularly those of Bogotá and Brasilia, caused a high-sounding response from the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry who highlighted that what his neighbors said corresponded to a dictate from the United States and that it was a “gross interference” in the internal affairs of a sovereign country.
But they have not been the only countries. From the United States, through Argentina, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Peru, among others, and the European Union bloc have expressed, in various tones, their concern and indicated that what happened in the last few hours is a violation of the Barbados Agreements and the rules of transparency and democratic equity that an electoral competition like the one to come requires.
“Colombia reiterates its absolute respect for the sovereignty and autonomy of the Venezuelan people (…) At the same time, it reiterates the need for a free, fair and competitive presidential electoral process in Venezuela, where citizen participation is promoted through voting as mechanism of democratic expression,” wrote the Colombian Foreign Ministry.
Likewise, the Government, which various sectors had been urging for weeks to reject what happened in Venezuela, asked for “political and electoral guarantees for all political actors alike,” as this constitutes “a fundamental axis within the framework of democracy.” .
For the chancellery, these irregularities could affect trust of some sectors of the international community in the transparency and competitiveness of the electoral process” on July 28.
'Misstep'
“Colombia also reiterates the need to support and promote democratic strengthening in Venezuela,” declared the portfolio in charge of Luis Gilberto Murillo.
But, as was unusual since President Petro assumed power, diplomatic and consular relations between the two countries were normalized and Bogotá assumed an attitude of facilitating the dialogue between the Maduro regime and the opposition, with the Bogotá Summit, the response of the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry was aggressive that had not been seen in months.
The Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Yvan Gil, described what Colombia said as a “rude interference”. “Venezuela has always been respectful of the complex political processes in Colombia, even in times of violence and great divisions.” And he continued: “Driven by the need to please the designs of the US State Department, the Colombian Foreign Ministry takes a false step.” Supposedly, according to the official, Murillo issued “false trials.”
The Colombian foreign minister, according to Gil, “had truthful first-hand information,” which is why his statement was taken in a bad way in the Nicolás Maduro regime. “Not only is it an act of bad faith, but it seeks to undermine the process of normalization of diplomatic, political and commercial relations,” stated Gil.
The tone did not change on the Brazilian side. Brazil's Foreign Ministry had said that followed the process “with concern”, especially since Venezuela has not yet given any explanation for the obstruction of several presidential candidates. “Based on the information available, it is observed that the candidate indicated by the Unitary Platform, a political opposition force, and on whom no judicial decisions weighed, was prevented from registering, which is not compatible with the Barbados agreements” .
Duke warns of possible attack
The ex-president Ivan Duque spoke about him complex electoral panorama in Venezuela, where the opposition has experienced difficult obstacles to register its candidates. In dialogue with NTN24the former Colombian president between 2018 and 2022 assured that it was “clear” that the president of said country, Nicolás Maduro, was going to “pass through” the Barbados agreements, while in exchange he obtained the release of Alex Saab and the authorization for oil exploration and exploitation.
Likewise, Duque warned that an illegal detention or an attack on the life of María Corina Machado was being planned by the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN).
“There are strong rumors that in the coming weeks the integrity and freedom of María Corina Machado could be at serious risksince an illegal detention and an attempt on his life by the SEBIN would be planned,” said the former Colombian president through his X account, who called on the international community to provide him with protection measures.
Ana María Rodríguez Brazón – EL TIEMPO Correspondent – Caracas
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