The Latin American Report # 282

Gustavo Petro wants to recognize the victory of who should be a natural ally: the current Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro Moros. However, the electoral power is reluctant to make things right and keeps a pernicious shadow over Venezuelan democracy and social consensus. A statement published by the Colombian foreign minister this Tuesday is almost a plea to Caracas on behalf of the international community.

For the peace of Venezuela it is necessary to know all the [electoral records] and that these be audited by the world. The international community and the Venezuelan people expect transparency and electoral guarantees for all sectors to prevail, and it is also [imperative] to clear up any doubts about the scrutiny.

These should have been the perfect elections, without fissures, clean of any suspicion. This was the (last?) opportunity for Chavism to show that it was possible to develop a surgical electoral process in a toxic electoral environment. It has done it the other way around. So Bogota urged Venezuela to “[support] this democratic process with evidence and tools that (...) allow (...) to maintain the dialogue between the parties and avoid violence in the streets”. On his part, in a call with Biden, Brazilian President Lula da Silva “reiterated that the publication of the electoral records of last Sunday's elections is fundamental”.

Brussels “[urged] the Venezuelan National Electoral Council to provide immediate access to the minutes of all polling stations,” through the bloc's high representative for foreign policy. “Until the [electoral records] are published and verified, the announced results cannot be recognized”, warned Josep Borrell. At some point the electoral authority will publish the results, I suppose, but with each passing minute, the distrust about the integrity of the data will grow even more.

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About the demonstrations that have been unleashed in several points of the Venezuelan geography, the head of the Miraflores Palace held his rival Edmundo González Urrutia responsible for “the criminal violence” that has left some people “wounded and deceased”. “I hold you responsible Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia for everything that is happening in Venezuela, for the criminal violence, (...) for the wounded, for the dead, for the destruction. You will be directly responsible Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia and Mrs. (Maria Corina) Machado, and justice will come”, said Maduro. There is a sector of the opposition very tied to the violent way, anti-national, but there is a responsibility of Chavismo as well. The influential Diosdado Cabello said that even if they had published all the information in the early hours of Monday, violence was guaranteed, but that was the responsibility of the electoral power anyway.

The death toll in the protests varies according to sources. Some speak of eight dead—others of 11 or up to 12—between members of the security forces and the civilian population, while government agents are calling for a strong attack against the opposition leadershipd. “I urge the authorities to respect the rights of all Venezuelans to assemble and protest peacefully and express their views freely and without fear,” said UN human rights chief Volker Turk.

In a mobilization in Caracas, María Corina Machado insisted on presenting González as the president-elect, and challenged the electoral authority to show the disputed electoral records “once and for all”. “The only thing we are willing to negotiate is the peaceful transition”, she also said to the crowd chanting “We have no fear!”. Pro-government voters also showed muscle in a large rally at the Miraflores Palace.

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And this is all for our report today. I have referenced the sources dynamically in the text, and remember you can learn how and where to follow the LATAM trail news by reading my work here. Have a nice day.