Brazil has toned down public criticism of Nicolás Maduro’s government in Venezuela, in a gesture that has been interpreted and criticized by the Venezuelan opposition as a result of the rapprochement between President Jair Bolsonaro and Vladimir Putin, one of several allies. Black eyebrows.
Since the early days of the current Brazilian government, Venezuela has been the target of constant attacks by Itamaraty, both in human rights organizations and in the UN General Assembly (United Nations). Caracas was used by Bolsonarism as a scarecrow of what Brazil could supposedly be in the event of a left-wing government. Therefore, quoting Maduro has come in handy as a tool to mobilize the most radical groups of the far-right movement in the country, even though the situation in the two countries shows no similarity.
This has been reversed in international forums, with actions such as proposing resolutions against Venezuela and even leaving the meeting room every time a representative from Caracas speaks.
However, members of the Venezuelan opposition leadership are now complaining of a “less vocal” Brazil. While Bolsonaro’s government continues to adopt a strategy of voting in favor of resolutions against Venezuela and condemning the dictatorship in the neighboring country, Brazilian negotiators have signaled to opposition members that they will not lead actions or lead efforts against Maduro.
For Venezuelan groups that oppose the Maduro regime, the change has to do with Bolsonaro’s recent rapprochement with Putin. In the last two years, it has been Moscow that has maintained financial and commercial relations with Caracas and ensured the economic survival of the Maduro regime.
Sources at Itamaraty do not deny that the relationship with Russia could have an impact. However, they emphasize that this is not the only factor, and the geopolitical situation in the face of the war in Ukraine affects the government’s attitude. In recent weeks, even Joe Biden’s presidency has taken a new stance, curbing popular attacks on Caracas, even though Venezuelans were not invited to the Summit of the Americas a week ago. The explanation has a name: oil. Faced with the crisis with Russia, Venezuelan resources have returned to Western capitals.
Bolsonaro’s own speech at the Americas summit ignored Venezuela, which has frustrated the Caracas opposition.
“I’m leaving here a message about Brazil’s commitment to America’s integration as a prosperous and democratic continent,” he said, without quoting Caracas. “During my tenure, Brazil has existed by working for democracy, freedom, and economic and social well-being in hemispheric and regional forums,” he said.
The tone contradicts Bolsonaro’s speech at the UN in 2019. “Today Venezuela is experiencing the tyranny of socialism,” said the President. “Socialism is working in Venezuela. Everyone is poor and deprived of freedom,” he attacked.
“We are working with other countries, including the United States, to restore democracy in Venezuela, but we are also working hard to ensure that other countries in South America do not experience this vile regime,” he said.
At the time, he neglected to cite former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who led the polls for the October election today.
“Foro de São Paulo, a criminal organization founded in 1990 by Fidel Castro, Lula and Hugo Chavez to spread and implement socialism in Latin America, is still alive and needs to be fought,” he said.
Maduro vs Putin
The global crisis created by the war in Ukraine also revealed an inconsistency in Brazilian diplomacy. If for months the government of Jair Bolsonaro had instructed its diplomats and ministers to leave meeting rooms when a representative of Maduro took the floor at the UN or other international organizations, one of the arguments was that there was no possible dialogue with Caracas: in fact, the regime would not be the legitimate government of the country.
But when Europeans and Americans began to do the same against Russia and leave the negotiating rooms when a Kremlin representative took the floor, Brazil’s stance was radically different. The order is not to isolate the Russians, maintain the channels of dialogue and prevent international organizations from being a prisoner of this politicization.
This week, when a Putin representative addressed the World Trade Organization (WTO), diplomats from more than 30 countries left the ministry conference room in protest.
source: Noticias
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