MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula on Venezuela: Maduro's Government is “disgusting” and has “an authoritarian tendency”

Lula expressed doubts about the validity of the recent presidential elections in Venezuela

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has voiced strong concerns about the political situation in Venezuela, describing the current regime under Nicolás Maduro as “very unpleasant, with an authoritarian tendency.” However, Lula stopped short of labeling it a “dictatorship,” underscoring the need for transparency in the electoral process.

In an interview with Radio Gaúcha on Friday, Lula expressed doubts about the validity of the recent presidential elections in Venezuela, held on July 28, which have been mired in controversy. “The opposition says it won, [Nicolás] Maduro says he won, and I can only recognize that the process was democratic if they present the evidence,” Lula stated, emphasizing the need for the publication of the official electoral records.

The election results, which the National Electoral Council (CNE) declared in favor of Maduro with 50.20% of the votes against 44.20% for opposition candidate Edmundo González, have sparked widespread protests and accusations of fraud from the opposition. Lula’s comments come as both the Venezuelan government and the opposition have rejected his proposal to hold new elections if the results are not verifiable. “They did not like the idea,” Lula acknowledged, noting that the resolution of Venezuela's political crisis “depends solely and exclusively on the behavior of Venezuelans.”

Both the opposition and Maduro Thursday rejected Lula's suggestion that fresh elections could be held as a way out of the current crisis stemming from the July 28 polls when the CNE announced his victory but the opposition cried “fraud” since no documents were produced to back up that result.

Lula reiterated that the Brazilian government’s recognition of the election results hinges on verifying the accuracy of the CNE’s numbers. “It is necessary to know if the numbers are true,” he stressed, reflecting broader concerns within the international community about the legitimacy of the electoral process in Venezuela.