Maduro’s ‘massacre’ rhetoric turns leftist government against him — MercoPress

Maduro’s ‘bloodbath’ rhetoric turns leftist government against him

Lula, Boric and Petro insist Maduro needs to accept results of Sunday’s election

South America’s leftist governments appear to have abandoned Venezuelan ruler Nicolas Maduro after he predicted last week that his country would descend into bloodbath if he failed to win Sunday’s presidential election.

“He can’t threaten bloodbath,” decried Chilean President Gabriel Boric Fonte, demanding Venezuelan authorities respect the results of Sunday’s election. Most opinion polls show opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia leading the race. “This is for the good of the country and all of Latin America,” Boric insisted. González Urrutia, a 74-year-old former diplomat, became the opposition candidate after leader María Corina Machado was disfranchised.

The Chilean leader is therefore on the same side as Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. “I agree and support what Lula said: no matter how you look at it, the threat of bloodshed cannot be tolerated. Leaders and candidates receive votes, and these votes represent the sovereignty of the people and must be respected,” Borick said during a meeting with foreign journalists.

Boric insisted that Lula, former Argentine President Alberto Fernandez and himself were “very democratic people.” Earlier this week, Lula admitted that he was “scared” by Maduro’s “bloody” rhetoric, which also included the possibility of “civil war.”

The Maduro regime reversed its decision to invite Fernandez as a foreign observer to observe Venezuela’s elections after the Argentine leader said the results must be respected so that the winner can become the next president. Such comments are not popular in Maduro’s circle after 13 consecutive years in power.

Boric stressed: “On the eve of this very important election, I call on the Venezuelan government and electoral forces to ensure the normal conduct of the electoral process, especially to provide guarantees to the opposition and to respect the officially recognized election results without restrictions.”

Boric also warned that if Chavismo does not accept the election results, “Venezuela will lose credibility with the entire international community.”

The left-wing Boric also said he believed the governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, all from the same political spectrum, would agree with his views on full respect for “popular sovereignty.”

Earlier this week, Lula stressed that “those who lose the election will only be robbed of votes, not blood. Maduro must learn to stay if he wins and leave if he loses to prepare for the next election.” If Maduro wants to contribute to solving Venezuela’s growth problems and bringing back those who left, “he must respect the democratic process,” he added.

In this case, Brazil will not send any observers, as Maduro questions the transparency of Brazil’s electoral process, just as then-President Jair Bolsonaro did in 2022, for which he was banned from running for eight years by Brazil’s Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE). Acknowledging Maduro’s objections would be tantamount to admitting that Bolsonaro was not wrong. Therefore, the TSE will also refrain from sending any observers to observe Venezuela’s electoral process.

The Supreme Court ruled that “given the false claims regarding Brazil’s electronic ballot boxes, which, contrary to what the Venezuelan authorities claim, are auditable and secure, the Supreme Electoral Court will not send technical personnel to the invitation of the country’s National Electoral Council…” The Brazilian electoral judiciary “does not accept statements or actions that disrespect the transparency of Brazil’s electoral process and that use lies to cancel the seriousness and integrity of elections and electronic ballot boxes”, it continued.

Colombia, which is ruled by a leftist president like Gustavo Petro for the first time, has also refused to participate in the Venezuelan process, which Bogota had intended to participate in, as shown by the request of Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo to form an expert committee.

On July 23, Maduro questioned the electoral systems of Colombia and Brazil at an event in Aragua state. Maduro argued: “Our electoral system is the best in the world.” He also touted that the electoral systems in the United States, Brazil and Colombia have never been audited, while Venezuela’s electoral system is different.

The election campaign in Venezuela ended on Thursday, with González Urrutia’s supporters taking to the streets in droves and the sense that, barring any foul play, this time Maduro might finally be defeated.

It remains unclear what a defeated Maduro will do: Will he accept the election results and acquiesce to a peaceful transition? With no reliable observers to monitor the election, anything could happen.