Rodríguez Zapatero refuses to sign the Puebla Group’s declaration demanding information on the vote count
▲ Opponents of the Venezuelan government took to the streets in Caracas yesterday.Afp Photo
Reuters, Afp, Xinhua, Sputnik, Europa Press and Ap
The newspaper La Jornada
Wednesday, July 31, 2024, p. 26
Rio de Janeiro. The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and his counterpart from the United States, Joe Biden, yesterday called for the disclosure immediate of the electoral records in Venezuela, as pressure against the Bolivarian Republic increases following last Sunday’s elections, in which President Nicolás Maduro was officially declared the winner.
The two leaders agreed on the need for Venezuelan electoral authorities to immediately disclose complete, transparent and detailed information on each voting center.the White House said.
In a phone call, the leaders shared the vision that the result of the election in Venezuela represents a critical moment for democracy in the hemisphere and they pledged to stay in close coordination on the matter, the Washington statement added.
The Brazilian presidency reported that Lula reiterated that the publication of the electoral records is essential and? Biden agreed.
Lula told Biden about the conversations that his special adviser, former foreign minister Celso Amorim, had in Caracas with Maduro and opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia.
The newspaper The Globe and Bloomberg reported separately that Maduro pledged to comply with international demands to publish full voting records from Venezuela’s elections in the following days.
The version was neither confirmed nor denied by the Brazilian nor Venezuelan governments.
On the other hand, Lula said: “It is normal that there is a dispute. How is it resolved? By presenting the minutes. When it is confirmed that they are true, we all have the obligation to recognize the result.
There is a proposal for Brazil, Colombia and Mexico to sign a joint note. I don’t think it’s necessary. President Maduro knows perfectly well that the more transparency there is, the more chances he will have of calm in governing.Lula stressed.
Former Spanish Prime Minister, Socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, did not sign the Puebla Group declaration recommending that the CNE, as suggested by the UN Secretary General and the Carter Center, guarantee the transparency of the electoral process by publishing all the minutes of the vote count.
The document was signed by the former presidents of the Dominican Republic and Colombia, Leonel Fernández and Ernesto Samper, respectively, electoral observers in Venezuela representing the Puebla Group – like Zapatero – an organization that brings together leaders of the Latin American and Spanish left.
Rodríguez Zapatero has consistently advocated for the suspension of international sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies on Maduro and other Chavista figures.
Miguel Díaz-Canel, President of Cuba, described enemies from Venezuela and Latin America to those who do not recognize the election result, while the president of China, Xi Jinping, stated that his country As always, we will firmly support Venezuela’s efforts to safeguard sovereignty, national dignity and social stability, as well as the just cause of opposing external interference..
The Organization of American States accused the Venezuelan authorities of trying to distort the election result from the most aberrant manipulation in a process without guaranteesalthough he did not present evidence.
Costa Rica offered political asylum to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia, against whom there are arrest warrantssaid Foreign Minister Arnoldo André.
Machado thanked the generous hospitality Costa Rican, but assured that his responsibility is continue this fight alongside the people.
Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves described fraudulent Maduro’s electoral victory. Following this, the Venezuelan government announced the expulsion of the ambassadors of Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, the Dominican Republic, Peru and Panama, all countries that do not recognize the results of the elections.
The governments involved responded in different ways, some calling it unheard of the decision, others of unjustified and some called it typical of dictatorial regimes.
Peru recognized González Urrutia as legitimate president-elect of Venezuela.