CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Following Venezuela’s disputed presidential election nine days ago, officials from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have been in constant contact with representatives of both the president and the president. Nicolas Maduro and opposition candidate Edmundo González to find a solution to the country’s political crisis.
A senior Mexican official involved in the talks told the Associated Press that the three countries, whose current leftist presidents are allies of Maduro, are holding talks with both sides, but he declined to characterize it as formal mediation.
The group of three countries recommends that the government and opposition follow Venezuelan law and appear before the appropriate authorities to appeal part of the process, the official said. That recommendation, however, is a big ask for the opposition, because Venezuela’s ruling party controls every aspect of government, including the justice system, and uses it to defeat and suppress real and perceived opponents.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because they were not authorized to discuss the matter, declined to name Venezuelan government and opposition officials who participated in the discussions. The source also would not say whether González’s team has indicated a willingness to formally appeal the results of the July 28 election.
Unlike many other countries that have recognized Maduro or González as the winner, the governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have taken a more neutral stance, neither rejecting nor applauding the victory that Venezuelan electoral authorities declared at the ballot box as a victory for Maduro.
In a joint statement issued last week, the three called on Venezuela’s electoral council to make public tens of thousands of ballots, which are considered the ultimate proof of the election results.
“The fundamental principle of popular sovereignty must be respected through an impartial verification of the results,” President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, President Gustavo Petro of Colombia and President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico said in their statement.
The Mexican official told AP that the presidents have not ruled out a face-to-face meeting with Maduro.
Millions of Venezuelans went to the polls on July 28 — some even held vigils at their polling stations — in long-awaited elections that were likely the toughest electoral challenge Maduro and his ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela have faced in decades. The National Electoral Council subsequently declared Maduro the winner without releasing detailed figures as it has in the past.
About 12 hours after the results were announced, thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets across the country to protest the results, facing brutal government repression.
The electoral council said Maduro received 6.4 million votes, while González, representing the opposition Unitary Platform coalition, secured 5.3 million. But González and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado stunned Venezuelans when they revealed they had obtained more than 80% of the ballots cast by every electronic voting machine after the polls closed, claiming Maduro had been defeated by a 2-to-1 margin.
Following the revelations, Maduro asked Venezuela’s Supreme Court to investigate the presidential election. His action, however, immediately drew criticism from foreign observers, who said the court was too closely tied to the government to conduct an independent investigation.
The court’s judges are nominated by federal officials and confirmed by the National Assembly, which is dominated by Maduro sympathizers.
The court summoned all 10 candidates on the ballot for a hearing on Friday. Only González did not show up. The court ordered him on Monday to appear at another hearing on Wednesday.
On Monday, Venezuela’s top prosecutor also announced a criminal investigation into González and Machado, following a statement calling on the armed forces to end their support for Maduro and stop repressing protesters.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab said they both “falsely announced a winner of the presidential election that was not declared by the National Electoral Council, the only body authorized to do so,” and that they openly “incited police and military officials to violate the laws.”
____
Castillo reported from Mexico City
