The Uruguayan president, Luis Lacalle Pou, has warned South American leaders we must not “cover the sun with a finger” on the situation of human rights in Venezuelaas part of the regional summit to be held in Brasilia this Tuesday.
TO the appointment called up by the Brazilian Luiz Inácio Lula da SilvaThe presidents of Argentina, Alberto Fernández; Bolivia, Luis Arce; Chile, Gabriel Boric; Colombia, Gustavo Petro; Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso; Guyana, Irfaan Ali; Paraguay: Mario Abdo Benitez; Suriname, Chan Santokhi and Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.
Although the sessions are held behind closed doors and there is no official broadcast, Lacalle Pou’s statements were published in a video posted on the Internet and the veracity of which was confirmed to EFE by the Uruguayan Presidency.
Lacalle Pou even hinted at the bilateral meeting Lula had with Maduro on Monday, in which the Brazilian president called criticisms of a lack of democratic guarantees or human rights violations in Venezuela “narratives”.
“Storytelling”
“This meeting was preceded, I don’t know if scheduled or not, by a bilateral meeting between Brazil and Venezuela. I was surprised when they talked about what is happening in Venezuela it is a narrative“, Lacalle said in front of the other leaders.
According to the Uruguayan ruler, “if there are so many groups in the world trying to negotiate so that democracy is full in Venezuela” and “that human rights are respected, so that there are no political prisoners, The worst thing we can do is cover the sun with a finger.”
Lacalle Pou explained that Uruguay maintains diplomatic relations with Venezuela and has an ambassador in Caracas, but assured that the “affinity” of the Uruguayans “He is with the Venezuelan people.”
He underlined that it is not in his hands to “elect a government”, but that he has “the possibility of expressing an opinion”, after which questioned one point in a joint statement which is being negotiated at the Brasilia summit.
The declaration, according to Lacalle Pou, “talks about democracy, talks about human rights and talks about celebrating institutions”, but from his point of view it does not fully reflect the Venezuelan situation.
“Obviously, we don’t have the same definition, which I think is that of the Royal Spanish Academy, dand what are respect for institutions, human rights and democracy”the Uruguayan president said in the video.
Criticism of multiple institutions
Luis Lacalle Pou asked his South American counterparts in Brasilia on Tuesday use existing regional integration mechanisms and stop creating new institutions because they end up being “ideological clubs”.
“Chega (in Portuguese) of the institutions! Enough with the institutions! (…) Otherwise, we ended up being ideological clubswhich have life and community as long as we correspond to ideologies,” Lacalle Pou said in front of a dozen leaders of the region, according to a video of his speech posted on his social networks.
Except for the words of the host, the Brazilian Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the speeches of the leaders were behind closed doors.
“We use the mechanisms we havethe institutions in which we participate and welcome the leadership of the great nations,” said Lacalle Pou, referring to the initiative that Lula has taken to integrate the region.
“I think we have to stop this trend of creating organizations, let’s move on to actions,” added the Uruguayan.
At the opening of the summit, Lula proposed to create a “high-level group”, composed of representatives of the presidents, to prepare a new “road map for the integration of South America” within 120 days.
Lula took stock of the various attempts in South America at true integration, frustrated since the 1960s, and assured that the region can no longer wait to overcome the social abysses that remain “from colonialism” in conditions of unity.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.