President Lula, Canadian Prime Minister hold talks on Venezuela
The Planalto presidential palace reported on Tuesday (Aug. 13) that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received a phone call from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. During the call, Trudeau expressed support for Brazil's efforts to defend democracy and transparency in Venezuela's electoral process. The results, which re-elected Nicolás Maduro for another term, are being contested by the opposition and several countries.
According to the palace, Lula remarked that “there is a history of missteps by the international community regarding Venezuela,” specifically pointing to the imposition of sanctions and the recognition of Juan Guaidó as president. In 2019, Guaidó, then the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly—controlled by the opposition—declared himself the country's president, with the backing of part of the international community. However, this recognition never materialized in practice.
In his conversation with Trudeau, the Brazilian president highlighted the coordination efforts of Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico to normalize the political situation in the neighbouring country. “The most important thing is to keep South America free of conflict, with prosperity and harmony,” said Lula, as he emphasized the importance of dialogue between the Maduro government and the opposition.
The three countries have collectively urged that the results from each of the 30,000 polling stations in Venezuela's presidential election be made public. They have also called for authorities to address the ongoing demonstrations since the conclusion of the election with "caution and moderation."
In a social media post about the phone call, Justin Trudeau emphasized the need for verification of Venezuela's election results. "Canada's position is clear: the election results must be validated through a credible verification process and must reflect the will of the Venezuelan people," stated the prime minister.
Lula also invited Trudeau to attend a meeting of democratic governments against extremism, scheduled to take place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this September. This initiative was spearheaded by Lula in partnership with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
