Alonso Urrutia, Emir Olivares and Nestor Jimenez

The newspaper La Jornada
Wednesday, July 31, 2024, p. 26

Both President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the virtual president-elect, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, condemned the interventionism in the results of the elections in Venezuela, both by international organizations and by other states.

López Obrador condemned the interference of the Organization of American States in the presidential elections of the South American country that took place last Sunday, which only accentuates, he said, its lack of credibility on the continent.

On what basis does the OAS claim that the other candidate won? The president said that this is not a democratic or autonomous body, it is an appendix of a faction that needs to be reformed because it is no longer useful and only aggravates regional problems.

He criticized the intervention of other countries, without mentioning any in particular. Is there a world government or a confederation of world governments that decides what is good, what is bad, who is a democrat and who is not a democrat? For the Morena supporter, it is another form of intervention, regardless of the self-determination of the people. Isn’t every country independent and free?

Sheinbaum Pardo said: We do not agree with interventionism. Venezuela is a free, sovereign country and the self-determination of its people must be recognized.Asked about her position on the election results, the next Mexican president was inclined to make the results transparent and to wait for the final result of the count.

In response to complaints from the Venezuelan opposition after the National Electoral Council declared victory to President Nicolás Maduro, Sheinbaum commented: “It is always important to make the results transparent. As we all know, the electoral authority in Venezuela gave a result that gives victory to Maduro and it is important – as we stated in 2006 – that this result be made known, that it be made transparent so that there is no room for confusion.”

At a press conference at his transition house, he called for people to wait until the vote count was completed, and added: This international attention and the OAS statement, already qualifying the election, well, we have to wait, right? At the same time, he hoped that there would be no violence in that country.

Count vote by vote

Meanwhile, López Obrador, during his morning press conference, suggested that the result be verified vote by vote, that the minutes be reviewed and, if necessary, that the election be cleaned up. To do this, it is necessary to have all the information from last Sunday’s elections, because until now, he commented, there is only one ruling from the Venezuelan National Electoral Council that gives an account of the results with 80 percent of the minutes counted, but they should not be disqualified in advance. neither in one sense nor in the other.

–Would you ask for a vote by vote?

–Yes, let the votes be counted, but let there be no ignorance a priori and those who do not truly act in a democratic manner should not get involved, because atrocities are committed in the name of democracy, we must not let ourselves be fooled.