After the dialogue between Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva and Gustavo Petro in the Casa de Nariño, both presidents proposed to Nicolás Maduro, president of Venezuela, a plebiscite that would allow the loser of the neighboring country’s elections to withdraw from the country with full respect for his life. The statement was made during the joint statement of both leaders during the Colombia-Brazil business forum.
“We have also talked about Venezuela, today it is news and we want, I transmitted to President Lula a proposal that was transmitted to President Maduro to the opposition that is being discussed even without a concrete outcome, but that has to do with a possibility of a plebiscite in the upcoming elections that guarantee a democratic pact, that guarantees for anyone who loses in those fair elections certainty and security over their life, over their rights, over the political guarantees that any human being should have in their respective country,” said President Gustavo Petro.
He added that during their meeting “we talked about Haiti, we want a peaceful solution to the Haitian problem. Colombia, through its illicit economies, has hit the Republic of Haiti in various ways, and this has a persecution and we want to provide a way out. “Together thinking about a democratic possibility for that country”
In fact, the Colombian president had a meeting with the Venezuelan opposition sectors in Caracas, Venezuela, which sought to reach an agreement to finally achieve political peace in the neighboring country. However, this meeting has not yet produced tangible results for the next elections that will be held on July 28.
Opposition discusses “unitary candidacy” in Venezuela before deadline
Next Saturday the deadline to replace candidates on the electoral ballots ends. After the disqualification of María Corina Machado, the favorite in the polls, the opposition alliance Plataforma Unitaria postulated a provisional name at the last minute after the blocking of its second option, Corina Yoris.
In parallel, a rival of the late Hugo Chávez, the governor of the oil state of Zulia, Manuel Rosales, ran on his own for one of the alliance parties, which was branded as “betrayal” by some leaders.
Now, the parties demand negotiations between Machado and Rosales to define a single candidate, which so far have not been finalized. On the contrary, there is a war of statements on social networks.
“These internal procedural issues, conversations, negotiations, when they are brought to public opinion instead of transmitting security, what they transmit is unrest,” lamented the general secretary of the PUD, Omar Barboza, on the NTN24 channel.
Machado has remained silent, while Rosales’ party said on Sunday that the leader did not receive “any formal invitation.”
Two of the largest parties of the Unitary Platform, Primero Justicia (PJ) and Voluntad Popular (VP), had previously expressed in statements that Machado proposed a meeting with Rosales and the alliance parties on April 10, without the initiative has prospered so far.
“The purpose of the meeting is to build a unitary and viable electoral option that allows us to move forward,” said PJ.
“All efforts have been made to hold the meeting,” said VP.
Machado swept the opposition coalition’s primaries last year and went to the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) in a mechanism agreed upon in negotiations between the Maduro government and the opposition to review the disqualifications, but the sanction was ratified under the claim of United States and the European Union.
*With information from AFP*