Maduro disagrees with Lula’s idea of ​​repeating elections — MercoPress

Maduro disagrees with Lula’s idea of ​​repeat elections

Maduro insists Venezuela’s sovereignty must be respected

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday rejected a suggestion by his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva that new elections could be held to resolve the current crisis, which stems from the July 28 elections, when the National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Maduro the winner but the opposition cried “fraud” because there was no documentation to support the result.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro endorsed Lula’s proposal, while Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would rather wait for authorities in Caracas to find a solution as the three Latin American countries tried to play the role of mediators.

Maduro insisted at a press conference that Lula and the international community should respect Venezuela’s sovereignty because “any problem in Venezuela is solved by the Venezuelan people through their institutions, laws and constitution.”

Maduro also recalled that former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro also cried “fraud” after losing to Lula, and likened the position of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado to that of the retired army captain.

Regarding Petro’s position on the matter, Maduro also pointed out, “I will never say ‘Colombia, your government should do this’, nor will I post my suggestions on social networks. No! Every president knows, every state, every country knows how to handle its internal affairs.” Maduro also argued.

Maduro also said in a statement: “As far as Colombia is concerned, we have been working to rebuild relations. I spoke with President Petro, we spoke on the phone, and privately we discussed many issues, but I would never engage in microphone diplomacy with Colombia.”

“I don’t do microphone diplomacy, I never do that,” he added. “If you don’t do that, then one becomes an adviser to other countries,” he also mentioned.

Petro called for “new free elections” and “full guarantees of political action” on X, while urging the United States to lift “all economic sanctions” on Venezuela.

Moreover, the White House later denied that President Joseph Biden had also expressed support for new elections. Maduro said that the United States “shocked the world because they denied the president”. “President Biden announced his opinion on Venezuela’s internal affairs (…) in an interventionist manner, and half an hour later a State Department spokesman denied it,” Maduro said in disbelief. “I completely and absolutely reject the US government’s pretense of being the electoral authority in Venezuela!” he stressed.