Brazilian Veto on Venezuela Is a Hostile Gesture: President Maduro
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, 2024. X/ @toolee775
October 29, 2024 Hour: 11:19 am
Despite the tensions, Venezuela reaffirmed its commitment to collaborate with the emerging superpowers that make up BRICS.
On Monday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro responded to Brazil’s decision to veto his country’s entry into BRICS, calling this veto a “hostile action” that contradicts the spirit of integration that this economic cooperation group promotes. Consequently, the Bolivarian leader demanded an explanation from Brazilian President Lula da Silva.
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Executed by Brazilian Ambassador Eduardo Paes Saboia, the veto aligned with policies applied during the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), a far-right politician who promoted international “exclusion and intolerance” toward Venezuela.
“When the list of new BRICS member countries was announced, Eduardo Paes Saboia, a functionary with a dark Bolsonarist background, admitted that the government of Lula da Silva indeed vetoed Venezuela,” Maduro stated.
He also recalled that the Brazilian Foreign Affairs Ministry, known as Itamaraty, has a history of decisions aligned with U.S. interests. This stance has its roots in the historic influence of the U.S. Department of State over Brazilian diplomacy, tracing back to the 1964 coup against then-President Joao Goulart.
Despite what happened, Maduro highlighted Venezuela’s ties with BRICS member countries and the importance of its bilateral agenda with nations such as China, Russia, and India.
“Our Vice President Delcy Rodriguez spent two days in India deepening commercial, economic, scientific, and energy agreements,” the Bolivarian leader said, adding that she would also establish high-level contacts to strengthen economic relations with Vietnam and Algeria.
The Venezuelan president emphasized the importance of BRICS as a bloc that brings together “new superpowers,” an alliance that sets the foundations for a “world without wars” focused on respecting countries’ sovereignty. He noted that Venezuela shares these principles and, despite the veto, considers itself part of the bloc in spirit, emphasizing that “Venezuela has belonged to BRICS, with a ‘B’ for Bolívar, for 200 years.”
Brazil’s veto of Venezuela was justified by President Lula’s special advisor, Celso Amorim, citing an alleged “loss of trust” in Maduro’s government. In an interview with the Brazilian newspaper O Globo, Amorim accused Caracas of failing to fulfill previous commitments and stressed that a “lack of transparency” raised doubts within the Brazilian government about the reliability of the Maduro administration.
According to the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry, Brazil’s decision contradicts the founding principles of BRICS, with the veto reproducing “the hate and exclusion promoted by Western power centers.” Maduro pointed out that Russia and China have already expressed support for Venezuela’s entry into BRICS.
Despite the tensions, the Bolivarian leader expressed openness to a possible restoration of relations with Brazil and said he hoped Lula would “say what he needs to say” at the appropriate time and in an informed manner. Furthermore, the Venezuelan president reaffirmed his commitment to continue promoting an “alternative world” in collaboration with the emerging superpowers that make up BRICS and other nations of the global south.
teleSUR/ JF Source: VTV – teleSUR
