President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) arrives this Tuesday (16) in Bogotá to strengthen cooperation and trade with Colombia and discuss the regional situation with the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro.
South American integration and Venezuela's electoral process are among the issues to be discussed between the presidents. Last week, Petro visited Venezuela and proposed mediating a dialogue between the government and the opposition to achieve political peace in the country.
“Help us in every possible way so that there is peace and understanding and no longer lie about Venezuela”, said Nicolás Maduro this Monday (15), stating that he found Petro’s proposal to meet with the opposition “excellent”.
Both Brazil and Colombia share a border with Venezuela and are directly affected by the worsening crisis in the neighboring country and the application of sanctions against the country by the United States, which worsens, for example, the migration of Venezuelans.
The country's presidential elections take place on July 28, but María Corina Machado, winner of the opposition primaries, was banned from holding public office for the next 15 years following a ruling by the country's judiciary.
She appointed Corina Yoris as her representative, but the replacement candidate also failed to register for the elections. At the time, the Brazilian government stated that the impediment is incompatible with the Barbados Agreement, signed between the Venezuelan government and opposition with mediation from Norway and facilitation from other countries, such as Brazil, which provides electoral guarantees for the election.
Delegation of 13 ministers
Lula arrives in Colombia on Tuesday night (16) with a large entourage: in total, the Brazilian president will be accompanied by 12 ministers, in addition to Margareth Menezes, who arrived earlier in Bogotá, where he is already carrying out a bilateral agenda.
On Wednesday morning, Petro and Lula are expected to meet for around two hours at Casa de Nariño, the Colombian presidential palace. Trade between the countries has seen an increasing flow since 2003 and should be one of the focuses of the conversations, which will be followed by a Brazil-Colombia business forum.
In addition to trade, the presidents will address a wide range of topics, such as technical-bilateral cooperation, integration of indigenous and Afro-descendants, sustainable development, police cooperation, and will sign memorandums of understanding on combating human trafficking and human rights.
The countries will also address issues such as agrarian development, territorial management, combating hunger and cartography, police cooperation, regional and productive integration, food security and infrastructure.
Lula will be at the opening of Filbo, the International Book Fair in Bogotá, considered the most important cultural event in Colombia, and which in this edition has Brazil as the honoree and guest of honor. Several representatives of Brazilian culture, such as Hermeto Pascoal, will participate in the event.
Source: CNN Brasil
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