Bolsonaro pledges to work to restore democracy in Venezuela

After a meeting held today (Feb. 28) at the Planalto presidential palace with Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, President Jair Bolsonaro publicly expressed support for the self-proclaimed president and said that Brazil will avail itself of legal means to work to reestablish democracy in the neighboring country.

“We will spare no efforts under the law, in compliance with our Constitution and our traditions, for democracy to be reestablished in Venezuela. This will only be possible after clean and reliable elections. We’re interested in a free Venezuela—prosperous and economically strong,” Bolsonaro said.

He criticized previous administrations in Brazil for having backed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. “This is my mea culpa, as two former Brazilian presidents took part in what’s going on in Venezuela today. This left likes the poor so much that they ended up multiplying them, and the equality they sought went downhill. We want equality to go uphill,” he stated.

The Brazilian president asked permission to address Guaidó as “brother” and said he will continue to support the decisions of the Lima Group in favor of political change in the neighboring country “for freedom and democracy.”

In his address, Guaidó—chair of the Venezuela’s National Assembly—expressed gratitude for the support of the Brazilian government in offering his country humanitarian aid and described the meeting as a milestone in the relations between both nations.

“It is a milestone set to restore positive relations that’s beneficial to our people. In Venezuela, we’re fighting for free elections, as set by the Constitution,” said the opposition leader, recognized by over 50 countries as the country’s legitimate president.

Guaidó said there are 300 thousand Venezuelans facing death risks and another 3 million under humanitarian risk as a result of the political and economic crisis in the country. In his view, Venezuela is not going through a dilemma between two groups or two ideologies, but rather between dictatorship and democracy, between extreme poverty and prosperity.

On his personal account on Twitter, Guaidó said he came to Brazil in search of support for a government transition in Venezuela. Before the assembly with Bolsonaro, he met with diplomatic representatives from other countries at the office of the European Union delegation in Brasília.