MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan president Vazquez now supports free credible elections in Venezuela

The Uruguayan administration continues to support Maduro as legitimate president, it “understands” but not necessarily justifies the existence of political prisoners and the humanitarian situation

As advanced by Mercopress, Uruguay and Argentine presidents', Tabare Vazquez and Mauricio Macri open agenda surprise meeting was in effect to address the Venezuelan situation, particularly what has been described in Buenos Aires as the erratic accommodative stance to circumstances and environment, of the Vazquez administration.

In effect, Argentina is a founding member and sponsor of the Lima Group which brings together most Latin American countries, with the exception of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro supporters, Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua, plus Mexico, and Uruguay, which allegedly favor dialogue and non interference in other countries internal affairs.

The Lima Group only recognize Juan Guaido as legitimate interim self proclaimed president, ignore Maduro as an usurper and dictator who holds on to power based on fraudulent elections, denounce political prisoners, a humanitarian and human rights crisis, media censorship, and demand immediate free, democratic, transparent elections.

The Uruguayan administration continues to support Maduro as legitimate president, based on democratic elections, favors dialogue among the conflicting sides, considers Guaidó the usurper, and in the aggression context in which Venezuela tries to survive, it “understands” but not necessarily justifies the existence of political prisoners and the humanitarian situation.

This because as foreign minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa, summoned to congress on the same Wednesday Vazquez was meeting with Macri, argued that the scenario emerges from “what we all know: imperialist United States intention of grabbing Venezuela's oil reserves, similarly to what happened in Iraq”.

Anyhow Nin Novoa could not avoid admitting the existence of political prisoners, a humanitarian crisis, and Uruguayan residents in Venezuela having desperately requested for medicines, to which the minister pledged “we will try to see how we can have them sent”.

As was expected the ruling coalition majority led by members of ex president Jose Mujica's group, considered Nin Novoa's satisfactory and with no consequences, since they are convinced that Maduro is in effect involved in an epic defense of Venezuela from foreign intervention led by Washington and Colombia.

Nin Novoa also argued that there are different scales of democracies and the Uruguayan rule can't be applied to Venezuela.

No wonder then that following the Macri-Vazquez summit in Colonia, Uruguay, there was no media conference but a brief four point declaration saying the two leaders had analyzed the political and social situation of Venezuela and called for a democratic solution with free, credible and international trustworthy controls, elections.

In other words president Vazquez now joins the Lima Group call for free democratic elections, but apparently no OAS controls, maybe from the European Union.

The other three points refer to the classical efforts to improve Mercosur coordination and regional integration, a review of the current global economic and trade conditions, and finally another classic, a repeat of these high level presidential meetings to review the above mentioned points.

And obviously a mention to the good relations between the peoples and governments of Argentina and Uruguay.