The Brazilian socialist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has issued a firm criticism against the obstacles imposed by the Nicolás Maduro regime to opposition candidates in the face of the upcoming elections in Venezuela. In his statement, Lula expressed his deep concern about the evident lack of transparency and equity in the Venezuelan electoral process.
During a joint event with French President Emmanuel Macron, Lula described it as “serious” that Corina Yoris, an academic with no political or judicial background, could not register her candidacy.
Despite his closeness to the Nicolás Maduro regime, the Brazilian president did not hesitate to point out that the refusal to register Yoris lacks justification in both political and legal terms.
“I don’t want anything better or worse for Venezuela, I want the elections to be held like in Brazil, with the participation of everyone,” Lula stated.
#ÚLTIMAHORA Lula da Silva afirma que el bloqueo de la candidatura de Corina Yoris es «grave» y «no tiene explicación jurídica» https://t.co/IQ4Le57Vl0 pic.twitter.com/bnkVUp8UfF
— Monitoreamos (@monitoreamos) March 28, 2024
This is the first time that the Brazilian president has spoken directly about the complaint related to blocking Yoris’ registration as a presidential candidate. Recently, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement expressing its concern about the veto of the opposition candidate.
“It is noted that the candidate nominated by the Unitary Platform (…) was prevented from registering, which is incompatible with the Barbados agreements. To date, the impediment has not been the subject of any official explanation,” indicates the statement from the Brazilian ministry, which also offered to “cooperate so that the elections announced for July 28 constitute a firm step towards the normalization of life politics and the strengthening of democracy in Venezuela.”
Maduro describes Brazil’s position as “interference”
The regime of Nicolás Maduro did not welcome Brazil’s recent statement and responded with a statement condemning what they called “the gray and interfering statement drafted by officials of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry.”
In the statement, the Venezuelan regime commented that it seemed to have been dictated by the United States Department of State and denounced that the comments contained in it are “fraught with a profound lack of knowledge and ignorance about the political reality in Venezuela.”
