Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has advised Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to either provide proof of his election victory or call a new poll with international observers.
Lula has traditionally been an ally of Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, but since being re-elected as Brazil’s president in 2022 he has sought to distance himself from the Venezuelan president.
In an interview with a Brazilian radio station Thursday, Lula said he did not recognize Maduro as having won the July 28 election.
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council has said Maduro won the election, with 52 percent of the vote but has refused to publish detailed breakdowns of the final tallies.
The opposition says their candidate, Edmundo González, won the election and was cheated out of the presidency.
Use ‘Good Sense’
“Maduro still has six months left in his term. He is the president regardless of the election. If he has good sense, he could call upon the people of Venezuela, perhaps even call for new elections, create an electoral committee and allow observers from around the world to monitor,” Lula added.
The Brazilian president also suggested a “coalition government” might be another way forward in Venezuela.
About 2,400 people have been arrested by security forces for demonstrating against Maduro after he was declared the winner and at least 23 people have been killed.
Venezuela’s top court has said it is still verifying the results.
In January, Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice upheld the ban, which was based on alleged fraud and tax violations, and accused Machado of supporting the economic sanctions the United States has imposed on Venezuela.
Machado told journalists this week the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) were not in a position to negotiate as it did not have an “agreed position.”
“There are groups who are clearly willing to negotiate and press for that to occur, and others who are not, who are dug in and willing to do anything,” she said.
The opposition say they have evidence Gonzalez won 7 million votes, more than double the 3.3 million cast for Maduro.
Those numbers were in line with independent exit polls.
Maria Isabel Puerta, professor of political science at Florida’s Valencia College, said, “A dialogue would have to recognize an electoral process where the opposition was the victor.”
Machado Sees ‘Good Sign’
Machado said, “I feel that at least the willingness in not having completely closed the channel with Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia is a good sign and we hope to see what happens this week, which I think is crucial.”Venezuela’s economy remains in dire straits, despite the country having the world’s largest crude oil reserves.
In 2022 the United Nations published data which suggested 7 million Venezuelans had left the country since 2013, when Maduro took over in the wake of the death of Chavez.
The report said 4.3 million of those Venezuelans faced difficulties “accessing food, housing, and stable employment” in a number of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection say 50,000 Venezuelans crossed the border into the United States in September 2023, and another 85,000 in the following two months.
