🗞️ After days of silence, President Gustavo Petro has spoken out about last week’s Presidential elections in Venezuela, marred by allegations of fraud after both incumbent Nicolás Maduro and opposition candidate Edmundo González claimed victory.
Petro broke his silence without recognising the victory of either candidate, but called on Maduro to allow transparent scrutiny of the count and suggested an agreement between the regime and its opposition.
“It is not a foreign government who should decide who is president of Venezuela,” Petro said last week.
Nonetheless, the US - as well as Argentina, Costa Rica, Panama, and Uruguay - have recognised González as winner of the election and new President of Venezuela.
Chile’s left-wing leader Gabriel Boric spoke out, questioning the victory claimed by Maduro, resulting in the expulsion of Chilean diplomats from Venezuela, along with those of Argentina and Peru.
Venezuela is now deep in diplomatic crisis with numerous countries around the world but, having maintained open dialogue with Maduro throughout his time in office, Petro - along with the Colombian government - is reportedly in ongoing conversations with both Maduro and González.
Petro is the only head of state to whom Maduro has publicly responded in the wake of the elections. “Petro is honourable and serious - I listen to him a lot,” Maduro said at a press conference last week.
Listen to this episode with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Emily Hart to listen to this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.
