Organizations ask Brazil to take a firm stance on elections in Venezuela
Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro are displaying a Venezuelan flag during a rally called by presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, in front of the United Nations headquarters in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 30, 2024 (Photo by Jonathan Lanza/NurPhoto) (Photo by Jonathan Lanza / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)
Civil society organizations, including Conectas Direitos Humanos, Article 19 (Brazil and South America Regional Office), the Brazil Office Association, the Human Rights Watch, Electoral Transparency in Brazil and Transparency International in Brazil, have issued a joint note requesting that the Brazilian government adopt concrete measures to help ensure a peaceful and democratic transition of power in Venezuela. The document sheds light on serious irregularities in the presidential election held five months ago, which presented ostensible indications of fraud that are currently under investigation by the United Nations’ Human Rights Committee.
The text points out that president Nicolás Maduro, who is about to enter his third term in office, has not yet presented the vote tallies that would prove his victory. The organizations reiterate the importance of Brazil taking the following immediate actions:
- Not to recognize the electoral results as long as the original vote tallies have not been checked and the UN issues a formal statement.
- Ensure protection to political exiles from Venezuela at the Argentinean embassy in Caracas, under custody of the Brazilian government.
- Support Venezuelan civil society in the struggle against repression and criminalization.
- Act for the liberation of arbitrarily detained civilians in the context of protests against alleged electoral fraud.
International alert and Brazilian stance
Read more
Furthermore, the note emphasizes Brazil’s strategic role in the defense of democracy in Latin America, stating that the normalization of the current political and institutional crisis in Venezuela would undermine its regional leadership status.
Brazil’s stance is even more relevant given Mexico and Colombia’s decision to send representatives to Maduro’s inauguration in January 2025.
