The presidents of Brazil and Colombia, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Gustavo Petro, respectively, have issued a joint call for fresh elections in Venezuela, following the contentious victory of Nicolas Maduro in last month’s presidential election. The proposal, however, has been swiftly rejected by the Venezuelan opposition, who accuse Maduro of obstructing a “political transition.”
The two South American leaders, who had a phone conversation on Wednesday to discuss potential solutions to the post-election crisis in Venezuela, independently urged Maduro to consider holding a new election. However, Maria Corina Machado, a prominent Venezuelan opposition leader, declared that such a move would demonstrate “a lack of respect” for the popular will already expressed on July 28. Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the opposition candidate who claims to have defeated Maduro by a wide margin, also criticized Maduro, accusing him of “playing with the lives of millions” by refusing to accept defeat.
“The country’s economy is getting worse and worse with each passing day with no political solution in sight, and you are responsible for this tragedy,” Gonzalez Urrutia said in a video posted on social media. “Venezuela deserves a future of stability, prosperity and peace, but in order to have that, the will of the people must be respected.”
In response, Maduro, while not directly addressing the call for new elections, stated, “Conflicts in Venezuela… are resolved by Venezuelans, with their institutions, laws and Constitution.” Lula da Silva, in an interview with a Brazilian radio station, proposed that if Maduro were “sensible… he could try to appeal to the people of Venezuela, perhaps even organize elections.” Lula further suggested that any new election should have “criteria for participation of all candidates” and should “allow observers from all over the world.”
Petro, for his part, took to X (formerly Twitter) to advocate for the lifting of all sanctions against Caracas, a “general national and international amnesty,” “new, free elections,” and a “transitional cohabitation government.” President Joe Biden, in Washington, initially signaled his support for such a move, but the White House later retracted his comment, with a spokesperson suggesting that Biden had been “speaking to the absurdity of Maduro and his representatives not coming clean about the July 28 elections.” The US spokesperson affirmed that it is “abundantly clear” that Gonzalez Urrutia won the election.
When questioned about the statements made by foreign leaders, Maduro stated, “We’re not going to conduct diplomacy at microphones. Every president, every country knows how to manage domestic affairs.” Machado, who was prohibited from running in the election by Maduro-aligned state institutions, told a virtual press conference that Venezuelans had voted “in very adverse conditions where there was fraud and we still managed to win.”
The country’s CNE electoral council declared Maduro the victor of a third, six-year term, awarding him 52 percent of the votes cast but without providing a detailed breakdown of the results. The opposition maintains that polling station-level results indicate that Gonzalez Urrutia won the election decisively. Both Gonzalez Urrutia and Machado have been forced into hiding since Maduro accused them of attempting to orchestrate a “coup d’état” and demanded their arrest. Maduro’s claim of victory has been rejected by the United States, the European Union, and several Latin American nations.
The Organization of American States (OAS) is scheduled to meet on Friday at the request of the United States to discuss a resolution calling for the CNE to publish detailed election results and permit independent verification of the data. Anti-Maduro protests have already resulted in 25 deaths, with dozens injured and over 2,400 arrested.
Maduro has previously dismissed the possibility of new elections and sought the certification of the election results from the country’s highest court, which is also considered loyal to him. In a parallel development, Venezuela’s legislature on Thursday approved a law regulating the registration and funding of NGOs, which the Maduro regime describes as a “facade for the financing of terrorist actions.” Critics assert that this law, along with other measures under consideration in the regime-friendly National Assembly, are aimed at criminalizing Maduro’s opponents. The vast majority of the 277 lawmakers in the single-chamber National Assembly are loyal to Maduro, who had warned of a “bloodbath” if he lost his reelection bid.
Human rights activists in Venezuela have voiced concerns about the NGO law, arguing that it will “deepen the persecution” of Maduro’s critics. Since assuming power in 2013, Maduro has presided over an economic collapse that has driven more than seven million Venezuelans to flee the country, with GDP plummeting by 80 percent over the past decade. His previous reelection in 2018 was also rejected as fraudulent by numerous countries.
