Amid the escalation of diplomatic tensions by the Venezuelan government in recent days, the Itamaraty Palace stated this Friday (1st), in a note, that it notes “with surprise the offensive tone adopted by demonstrations by Venezuelan authorities in relation to the Brazil and its national symbols”.
The note from the Brazilian chancellery was released two days ago after Venezuela summons its ambassador to Brazil for consultations as a manifestation of repudiation of statements made by Brazilian spokespeople, specifically citing the special advisor to the Presidency of the Republic, ambassador Celso Amorim. In addition to the Venezuelan ambassador to Brazil, the Bolivarian government summoned the Brazilian Chargé d’Affaires in Caracas to express an official repudiation.
Venezuela, including the president himself Nicolás Maduro, accuses Brazil of having vetoed the country’s entry into the Brics groupduring the organization’s summit, last week, in Kazan, Russia.
“The option for personal attacks and rhetorical escalations, replacing political and diplomatic channels, does not correspond to the respectful way in which the Brazilian government treats Venezuela and its people. Brazil has always had great appreciation for the principle of non-intervention and respects fully the sovereignty of each country and especially that of its neighbors”, says the note.
Still according to Itamaraty’s statement, “the Brazilian government’s interest in the Venezuelan electoral process arises, among other factors, from the condition of witness to the Barbados Agreementsto which he was invited, as well as to monitor the July 28 election”, he argues. “The Brazilian government remains convinced that partnerships must be based on frank dialogue, respect for differences and mutual understanding”, concludes the notice.
On Tuesday (29), Celso Amorim participated in a public hearing at the Foreign Relations and National Defense Committee of the Chamber of Deputiesand denied that Brazil vetoed Venezuela’s entry into the Brics group. Lula’s advisor admitted a “malaise” between the two countries due to the electoral process that gave another mandate to Nicolás Maduro, but which is questioned by the international community due to the lack of transparency regarding the voting minutes, a procedure that it was agreed upon by previous agreements between the country’s political groups, in mediation that included the participation of the Brazilian government, such as the Barbados Agreements, mentioned in the Itamaraty note. At the time, according to Amorim, the decision not to join Brics was made by consensus between the bloc’s founding countries – Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa.
Maduro had already addressed the issue during his television program broadcast on state TV. In the statement, the Venezuelan president said that the minister [das Relações Exteriores] Mauro Vieira, who represented Lula at the BRICS Summit, promised, during the negotiations that took place in Russia, that he would not prevent the Venezuelans from entering. According to Maduro, who went to the summit, the two met at the end of the event and the Venezuelan allegedly questioned the Brazilian veto. According to the president, the Brazilian chancellor reaffirmed that he did not veto Venezuela.
The Venezuelan president also harshly criticized Itamaraty, saying that the department has a history of being linked to the United States Department of State. Maduro also said that the person responsible for the alleged veto on the country was the Secretary of Asia and the Pacific at Itamaraty and Brazil’s main negotiator at Brics, Eduardo Saboia.
In another demonstration, the Bolivarian National Police posted, on the official social network, a montage in which an image of Lula, with his face blurred and the Brazilian flag in the background, is stamped with the phrase “El que que se meta con Venezuela se seca”, which in free translation from Spanish would be something like “Whoever messes with Venezuela gets screwed”. The post, which remained online until this Friday, was deleted after the official note from Itamaraty.
