Chavismo responds to Lula da Silva, José Mujica and Gustavo Petro: “Put your opinions where they belong”

The Venezuelan regime reacted with a very harsh repudiation full of vulgarity against his historical allies in the region, the Colombian Gustavo Petro, the Uruguayan José Pepe Mujica and the Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva who criticized the relentless offensive of Chavismo to disqualify opposition leaders and thus guarantee the re-election of Nicolas Maduro on July 28.

Jorge Rodríguez, president of the unicameral congress, chief “negotiator” of the nomenklatura with the opposition and one of Maduro’s most important swords said: “We don’t meddle in anyone’s business. Put your opinions where they best fit.”

The official, brother of Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, questioned center-left leaders who, according to him, “lack knowledge, are ignorant or are afraid” in the face of what he called “the magnificent insurrectional plan” of the Venezuelan opposition.

He was referring to the narrative of the regime he denounces a collusion by the dissident leadership to kill the Chavista leader. This formulation was the pretext for the offensive against the opposition with arrests and disappearances of leaders and has been used in the past for the same purpose.

Maduro went so far as to claim that the Vente Venezuela party of former MP María Corina Machado, the main leader of the Venezuelan opposition, is a “terrorist organization”, an attack which he extended in the same terms to the entire anti-Chavista arc.

The problem with the Venezuelan autocracy is that the former parliamentarian has obtained a united support of more than 90% of the entire opposition and according to polls he would have a large difference in his favor if the elections were free with Maduro as the candidate.

The Chavista experiment that has already been in power for a quarter of a century would invariably fall to the ground. So the conspiracy that Rodríguez alludes to was created to manage the opposition and pave the way for the Venezuelan leader to seek his second re-election.

In recent weeks, these and other leaders of the region have condemned not only the inexplicable 15-year ban of Corina Machado, but also the evident maneuvers so that the electronic system does not register Corina Yoris, who has no judicial obstacles and was nominated by the former MP to replace her at the polls.

Brazil’s turning point and criticism from allies

The data that most worried the regime, according to local analysts and diplomatic sources, was the contact the Brazilian PT government who condemned these abuses through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and President Lula himself. “It is noted that the candidate (Corina Yoris) nominated by the United Platform, an opposition political force, on which there have been no judicial decisions, was prevented from registering, which is not compatible with the Barbados agreements. To date, the impediment has not been the subject of any official explanation,” she underlines.

These agreements, which involved the United States, the European Union and Brazil, established an agenda of democratic opening last year, with the release of political prisoners and an end to bans. In exchange, Washington lifted the main part of the sanctions against the Caribbean country in October and for six months, ending in April, among other concessions requested by Caracas.

This Thursday, for the first time, Lula personally asked himself how “serious” he is the Chavismo movements. “I don’t want anything better or worse for Venezuela, I want the elections to take place like in Brazil, with everyone’s participation,” said the PT leader, who has suffered losses in popularity due to his previous public support to Maduro.

Source: Clarín agencies and editorial staff