Jamil Chad Itamaraty receives signal that Maduro will not be at Lula’s inauguration 01/01/2023 09:46

Itamaraty received information this morning that Venezuela’s new President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, will not be represented by President Nicolas Maduro at the inauguration ceremony. Caracas informed the Brazilian prime minister that the Venezuelan delegation will be headed by Jorge Rodrigues, the president of the country’s National Assembly.

In Brasilia, the information is still considered tentative, as the scenario may change until the Venezuelan mission departs from Caracas.

American sanctions on any company that maintains a business relationship with Nicolas Maduro’s government put an extra hurdle in the Venezuelan president’s disembarkation for his inauguration ceremony.

Because of the embargo, companies that would refuel their plane to allow Maduro to return to his home country could be penalized by the US government and prevented such companies from operating on US soil or even using the US financial system. Therefore, before closing a supply contract, these companies at the Brasília airport want assurances that they will not be penalized by the US government for later entering into a commercial relationship with Venezuelans, even if it is just supply. an airplane

This was the second impasse of Maduro’s voyage. The first was a decree by Jair Bolsonaro that began banning Venezuelan authorities from setting foot on Brazilian soil in 2019.

At his inauguration, Lula, whose aim was to unite South America, insisted that the problem be resolved.

However, Bolsonaro’s government refused to revoke the decree. In fact, a week ago, Lula gave up and Maduro signaled that he would understand the situation. But to the surprise of even the PT’s advisers, Bolsonaro repealed the law this Thursday. Given the short time until opening, there will be no guarantee that the preparatory process can be completed.