Lula Defends Maduro Against Attacks by Lacalle Pou and Boric | For the President of Brazil, the regional summit is ‘not a group of friends’

“The summit is not a group of friends”

“Maduro is part of our continent and there was a lot of respect for Maduro’s participation; “No one is obliged to agree with anyone, this is how we conduct a democratic dialogue,” Lula said in response to a question from the Teleam news agency at the conclusion of the regional summit held on Tuesday. He endorsed Brazilian President Maduro and said that while they were both guilty of political persecution, they were victims of their political opponents’ narratives.

“I have always defended the idea that each country has a sovereign to decide its own political system, what kind of elections to hold and to discuss internal matters,” Lula said, describing it as “very strange.” “The demand that the Western world is directing to Venezuela should not be from Saudi Arabia.”.

“I want Venezuela to be respected and I want the same for Brazil,” commented Lula, who downplayed criticism of Lacalle and Boric and emphasized that The presidential summit is “not a group of friends”. And that there are always heated speeches of criticism. Lula explained that he practically did not know Porek and Lakale-Bou and that this summit served to generate closeness and trust.

For Lula, the South American union as a bloc negotiating in a coordinated manner in other international groups or forums is a necessity to maintain economic independence. “Either we will come together to defend our interests, or we will be puppets in the hands of the major economies,” he said.

Cover the sun with your finger.

However, the President of Uruguay, Louis Lacalle PoeRepresents the weight of the divisions. “If there are so many groups in the world that are trying to mediate so that Venezuela has complete democracy, that human rights are respected and there are no political prisoners, The worst thing we can do is cover the sun with a fingerLakale Poe pointed out, according to the newspaper Country. “Let’s give (Venezuela) the name it bears and help,” said the right-wing president, who calls Maduro a “dictator”.

In the same vein, the President of Chile, Gabriel BurekHe said that the Venezuelan situation is “not a narrative construct” but a reality. Human rights must always be respected.He noted the Chilean president, who at the same time supported the repeated request from Caracas to call on the United States and the European Union to cancel the sanctions that burden Maduro and his government.

Maduro responded by noting that countries such as Chile or Uruguay “have a vision” and Venezuela “others”. “The most important thing is that there was discussion,” the Venezuelan leader said, announcing a “new phase” of South American integration “with a renewed spirit of respect, union, complementarity and diversity.”

Support the Venezuelan Parliament

Venezuela’s National Assembly endorsed Maduro’s visit to Brazil on Wednesday in a document that was approved unanimously. Venezuelan parliamentarians agreed to “support and recognize the historical, political and social value of” Maduro’s visit to Brazil, the first since 2015, when the president attended the inauguration of former President Dilma Rousseff for a second term.

The conference indicated that this meeting comes within the framework of restoring diplomatic relations between the two countries, which have been suspended since 2019, and which resumed with the return of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Lola To the presidency of the South American giant, who took office on January 1.

In addition to Lula, Maduro, Boric and Lacalle Pou, the presidents of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, attended the meeting on Tuesday in Brasilia. from Colombia, Gustavo Petro; from Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benitez; from Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso; Luis Arce from Bolivia; From Guyana, Irrfan Ali, and from Suriname, Chan Santokhi. Piero was represented by Chief of Staff Alberto Otarola.

The meeting concluded with a consensus declaration seeking to enhance integration “to face common challenges” and increase trade and investment, but without concrete agreements. A working group of the foreign ministers of the twelve countries has also been set up, which must meet within 120 days to analyze progress.