President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called for the results of the Venezuelan presidential elections, scheduled for Sunday (28), to be widely respected so that the country can “return to normality." The statements were made in an interview with international news agencies Bloomberg, Reuters, AFP, EFE, AP, and Xinhua.
“I told [Nicolás] Maduro that the only possibility for Venezuela to return to normality is for there to be a widely respected electoral process,” Lula said, according to AFP. "Maduro has to learn that when you win, you stay [in power]. When you lose, you leave. You leave and get ready to contest another election.”
Hours later, the Brazilian president's statements were refuted by the president of the Venezuelan parliament, Jorge Rodríguez. At a press conference, the Chavista politician was asked about Lula's statements, which he claimed not to have read, but promised Venezuela’s government will respect the election results.
“I haven't read what Lula said, but how can we not respect the results if we’re going to win [the elections]?” asked Rodríguez, one of the country's greatest political leaders, having served as Hugo Chávez's vice president, mayor of Caracas and minister on several occasions.
“Of course we're going to respect them [the results]. We're going to celebrate them on the streets. Maduro will celebrate the results with his people,” he added.
Elections and violence
Last week, it was Jorge Rodríguez who tried to rectify a statement by Maduro that had negative repercussions in the world press. Last Thursday, during a campaign event, the Venezuelan president said that the government's defeat could lead to instability and violence provoked “by the fascists”, stating that the country could fall into a “civil war” and there could be “a bloodbath” if his government is defeated.
“Venezuela's fate in the 21st century depends on our victory on July 28th. If you don't want Venezuela to fall into a bloodbath, a fratricidal civil war, the product of the fascists, we must guarantee the greatest [electoral] success [ever], the greatest victory in the electoral history of our people,” he said in a speech.
The following day, Rodríguez justified Maduro's speech and said that the possibility of a conflict emerging would be because, in case Maduro is defeated, the most extreme group of the opposition would persecute the Chavists. He also guaranteed that the government will recognize the election result and take to the streets to defend it “even with our own lives”.
Lula commented on these statements on Monday (22) when talking to international agencies and, according to AFP, said he was “shocked” by Maduro's remarks. “Whoever loses the elections gets a votebath, not a bloodbath,” he said.
“I've already spoken to Maduro twice, [...] and he knows that Venezuela's only chance of returning to normality is to have an electoral process respected worldwide,” said Lula. “If Maduro wants to contribute to resuming Venezuela’s growth, bring back people who left the country, establish a state of economic growth, he has to respect the democratic process,” said the Brazilian president.
Lula also confirmed on Monday that his advisor on international affairs, Celso Amorim, and two representatives of Brazil’s Supreme Electoral Court will travel to Venezuela to monitor next Sunday's elections.
Elections in Venezuela
Venezuelans will vote on July 28 to choose their next president from among 10 candidates. Although electoral polls are not considered reliable in the country, experts say they believe the race is close between the current president, Nicolás Maduro, and the opposition’s Edmundo González Urrutia.
In June, Urrutia was one of the two candidates who refused to sign a pledge to recognize election results. Last week, the opposition raised suspicions about the electoral system again, stating that it would only recognize the results of electoral zones it monitors.
The Venezuelan electoral system, which combines electronic voting machines and paper ballot boxes, is considered one of the safest in the world by international organizations. The election results are expected to be announced on the evening of July 28.
Edited by: Rodrigo Durão Coelho
