Lula receives Maduro: “There are a lot of prejudices about Venezuela” | international

The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has offered strong support for the diplomatic rehabilitation of his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro, by welcoming him to Brasilia with a speech on the notion that “there are a lot of prejudices about Venezuela” and without any. A reference to human rights violations. The Brazilian left leader also described the meeting between the two in Brasilia as a “historic moment” eight years after Maduro’s last visit to Brazil and on the eve of the South American Presidents’ Summit that Lula called for on Tuesday. The Chavista leader asserted that his country had been “victim of a fierce campaign” that included “900 penalties firing like missiles” and opened his arms to Brazilian investors.

After meeting alone and then with ministers and chancellors, both presidents appeared together. Lula attributed the political, economic and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela to “a narrative that says so [el Gobierno de Maduro] He was undemocratic and authoritarian” and encouraged his counterpart to “build his own narrative and [Venezuela] Back to a sovereign state, where only its people say, through a free vote, who should rule. And then our opponents will have to apologize for the havoc they have caused.”

Once in power, Lula restored relations with the Chavista government and reopened the embassy. On Monday, he received Maduro as advanced guard for the summit of South American presidents, which was called on Tuesday in the Brazilian capital. The meeting, presented as an informal haven for leaders to brainstorm how to integrate the region beyond ideological divisions, would also mean the end of diplomatic isolation for Maduro, who plunged into ostracism during the already closed phase in which Brazil and other neighbors recognized Juan. Guaido as interim president of Venezuela.

Maduro is the first head of state to arrive in Brasilia for the summit. He landed Sunday night with his wife, Celia Flores, after eight years without ever setting foot in Brazil. However, his bilateral meeting with Lula was not confirmed until just over three hours earlier. When the far-right Jair Bolsonaro came to power, one of his first actions was to cut ties with Chavismo, ban Maduro from entering and recognize Guaido as an interlocutor – on the heels of the United States, the European Union and dozens of other countries. governments-; The leftist Lula made his debut by being invited to his inauguration, which he did not attend, and the resumption of bilateral relations with an exchange of ambassadors.

The anticipation of Maduro attending this meeting of leaders is enormous because he has not participated in a meeting like this in years. This past January, Venezuela’s president canceled his attendance at a CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean Nations) summit at the last minute for fear of protests, arguing that there were “extravagant plans devised by right-wing extremists” to attack him and derail the event. Once again, the Chavista was recognized internationally as a legitimate leader, including by the United States, which led the campaign to impeach him but allowed Chevron to resume operations in Venezuela at a time when prices were skyrocketing due to the war in Ukraine.

The Brazilian presidency stated in a note that the direct confrontation between Lula and Maduro “will also be an occasion for the two presidents to talk about internal dialogue processes in Venezuela, with the aim of holding the 2024 elections.”

Both countries have maintained diplomatic relations since 1842, although they only set borders in 1905. Bilateral trade, now at $1.7 billion, peaked a decade ago, with $6 billion, when Lula’s successor, Dilma Rousseff, Chairman.

It had been many years since the last time the heads of the twelve Southern Cone countries had met. There is no set agenda for the Tuesday meeting. The only announced absence is that of President Dina Boulwart, who cannot leave Peru for constitutional reasons and will send the Prime Minister. Without it, it would be an ideologically colorful but clearly masculine retirement.

Alberto Fernandez (Argentina), Luis Arce (Bolivia), Gabriel Boric (Chile), Gustavo Petro (Colombia), Guillermo Laso (Ecuador) and Irfan Ali (Guyana) are expected in the Brazilian capital for the day. Benitez (Paraguay), Cha Santokhi (Suriname), Luis Lacalle Beaux (Uruguay).

After a few years of political polarization and the Venezuelan crisis, with the exodus of immigrants and the recognition of an interim president, generating massive suspicions and deep divisions in South America, Lula is trying to reset the counter to zero. His idea “is to resume dialogue that has been so severely interrupted in recent years. He wants to reinvigorate integration in South America, but first leaders must identify minimum common denominators and from there resume cooperation” to confront “global, regional and individual problems,” he explained in an appearance by America’s Minister Latin and Caribbean Ministry of Foreign Affairs Brazilian Ambassador Gisela Padovan. President Lula would like leaders to exchange views openly and to think on the basis of the state and not governments, so as not to leave relations between neighbors at the mercy of the election results, which is as ambitious a goal as it is abstract.

Together with Lula, Brazil returned to CELAC and Unasor (Union of South American Nations), which once had 12 members but had become a left-wing club with now only seven members, paralyzed and without an agenda. When the right was victorious in several countries in the region, their chiefs united in Prosor (Forum for Progress of South America).

Lula returns to set his sights on South America after visiting the United States, China, and the European Union, among other allies, and investing a good dose of his international strength in trying to mediate the war in Ukraine. Brazil insists that the meeting of presidents is a starting point, a council for South American heads of state to think together with confidence about how to increase regional integration, through what mechanisms, at what pace and with what priorities.

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