President Maduro Confirms Strength of Venezuelan Democracy
People gather at Miraflores Palace in support of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Aug. 2024. Photo: X/ @PresidencialVen
August 16, 2024 Hour: 9:41 am
“Each president, each state, and each country knows what they should do about their internal affairs,” he stressed.
On Thursday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro made statements in response to comments from the presidents of Colombia, Brazil, and the United States regarding the presidential elections held on July 28.
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“Each president, each state, and each country knows what they should do about their internal affairs,” he said, emphasizing that he respects the government of Colombia, which is why he refrains from commenting on the neighboring country’s internal affairs.
“In private, we always talk about many topics. But I would never engage in ‘microphone diplomacy’ with Colombia. I will never do that. Venezuela is a guarantor in the peace negotiations, and I will not express opinions on what Colombia should do to overcome that terrible war that is getting worse and worse. I would never tell Colombia and its government what they should do or publish advice on social media,” Maduro said.
Regarding President Joe Biden, the Bolivarian leader reminded everyone that the United States practices an imperialist, interventionist diplomacy. For this reason, even though Biden said he did not support a repeat of the Venezuelan presidential elections, other U.S. officials dismissed his statements.
“In an interventionist manner, President Biden spoke about Venezuela’s internal matters, which concern only Venezuelans and their institutions. Half an hour later, some State Department spokespersons contradicted him. Who is in charge of U.S. foreign policy?” Maduro asked, and rejected the U.S. pretensions of setting itself up as the electoral authority of Venezuela or any other nation.
The Bolivarian leder described as positive the fact that the Venezuelan Supreme Court keeps the public informed about the progress of the forensic analysis regarding the contentious appeal related to the 2024 presidential elections. He recalled that the Brazilian Supreme Court also ruled on the results of the elections held in 2022, when Jair Bolsonaro made fraud accusations without presenting evidence.
“In Venezuela, neither the government nor the people made statements about it or demanded anything. What the Brazilian Supreme Court decided is a matter for Brazilians… What Venezuela did was condemn the fascist violence after January 8, 2023, when there was an attempted coup,” Maduro pointed out.
Earlier, in a radio interview on Thursday, Brazilian President Lula da Silva stated that he could not recognize the victory of either re-elected President Maduro or opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez. To resolve the political impasse in Venezuela, the Brazilian leader then proposed the formation of a coalition government or the holding of new elections.
Later, through social media, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that “a political agreement in Venezuela is the best path to peace. It only depends on the Venezuelans.” While the Colombian leader called for the lifting of all sanctions against Venezuela, he also demanded a general amnesty, full guarantees for political action, a “transitional cohabitation government,” and new elections.
From the United States, officials in the Biden administration said their country would support the holding of new presidential elections in Venezuela with the presence of international observers.
During his daily press conference, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) stated that he did not believe it was prudent to request new elections in Venezuela. “We will wait for the Venezuelan Court to decide. I don’t think it’s wise for us, from the outside, as a foreign government, to comment on something that Venezuelans should resolve,” he said.
After a phone conversation on August 1, the presidents of Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia issued an initial statement asking Venezuelan electoral authorities to “expedite the process and publicly disclose the detailed results by polling station.” This joint document also states that “controversies over the electoral process should be resolved through institutional channels. The fundamental principle of popular sovereignty must be respected through impartial verification of the results.”
Later, on August 7, they issued a second statement reaffirming that they “consider it essential for the Venezuelan National Electoral Council to present the results of the July 28, 2024, presidential elections, broken down by polling station.” On that occasion, the presidents of Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil also reiterated that they “assume that the CNE is the body legally responsible for the transparent dissemination of the electoral results.”
teleSUR/ JF Source: VTV – EFE – teleSUR
