The President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou, surprised locals and strangers by appointing the former mayor of Tacuarembó and former mayor, Eber da Rosa, as the new political ambassador to the Venezuelan government, which he has described on more than one occasion as a “dictatorship ”.
Until now, the Uruguayan representation in Venezuela was headed by a business manager since February 2016, when the then ambassador Óscar Ramos left office. Now, the government of Lacalle Pou requested the approval of Parliament for the appointment of da Rosa.
The portal Bloomberg Uruguay tried to obtain statements from the Presidency of the Republic, but received no immediate response.
For Lacalle, Maduro is a dictator
Lacalle Pou has always maintained a rigid stance against Nicolás Maduro, whom he has described as a dictator. Not on a few occasions he has made assertions in which he installs the appellation of “dictator” on the inauguration of the Chavista leader.
On August 18, 2017, when he was still a senator, he had written on Twitter: “Maduro, Venezuela, dictatorship. Is there any doubt?”
MADURO, VENEZUELA, DICTATORSHIP. Is there any doubt?
— Luis Lacalle Pou (@LuisLacallePou) August 18, 2017
In March 2020, when he took office, Maduro did not receive an official invitation to the ceremony in which Tabaré Vázquez transferred the presidential sash to Lacalle, but he did invite other controversial figures such as the then Bolivian de facto president, Jeanine Añezwho had come to power through a coup, for which she is now sentenced to prison.
In July 2020, he had stated: “(Maduro’s government) is a dictatorship clinging to power. It is a machine of corruption and violation of human rights”.
Later, in September 2021, when he attended the Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), he had returned to his accusations against Maduro. “We share self-determination and non-intervention, but one of the elements that promotes Celac is democracy, and democracy is the best system that individuals have to be free. And that is why participating in this forum does not mean being complacent ”, he began by saying in his speech at this meeting.
“When one sees that in certain countries there is no full democracy, when the separation of powers is not respected, when the repressive apparatus is used from power to silence protests, when opponents are imprisoned, when human rights are not respected, In a calm but firm voice, we must say with concern that we seriously see what is happening in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela”, continued the liberal head of state.
