Macri pressures Lula for position on Venezuela: “the world awaits his word”

Former Argentine President Mauricio Macri asked Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Monday (29) not to remain silent about the results of the Venezuelan election. The statement comes after the non-recognition of the results of the Venezuelan presidential election by the country’s opposition, which claims to have won the election.

“I hope that President Lula, whom I consider a democrat despite our differences, will not remain silent. What is happening in Venezuela is an attack on democracy and there is a huge risk that this dictatorship will continue in our region. Venezuelans and many leaders in Latin America and the world are waiting for his word at this difficult time,” he wrote.

According to the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela, the body responsible for organizing the presidential election, current president Nicolás Maduro was elected with 51.2% of the votes, against 44.2% for the main opposition candidate, Edmundo González.

The opposition, led by former deputy María Corina Machado, however, claims to have had access to only 40% of the vote tally records that are printed by the ballot boxes and accuses the government of having intentionally interrupted the transmission of the results.

According to the opposition, based on the records obtained, the opposition candidate had 70% of the votes. “Venezuela has a new president elected, and it is Edmundo González,” Machado assured, contradicting the results released by the electoral body.

In an exclusive interview to CNN Last week, before the elections, Machado said he believed that Lula is “among the people in the international community who can have the most influence on Nicolás Maduro.”

The Brazilian president’s special advisor for international affairs, Celso Amorim, is in Venezuela, where he followed the elections, but has not yet spoken out about the results of the election.