The former president of Chile and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bacheletasked this Thursday “the greatest efforts of the Governments, the political forces and the regional community to ensure that the dictatorial and anti-historical trend is not consolidated” in Venezuelain a joint statement also signed by 18 former Latin American foreign ministers, several former ministers, ambassadors and academics who make up a total of 65 outstanding personalities.
«The Latin American Reflection Table, made up of politicians, diplomats and academics from various countries in our region, rejects and declares as a serious political error, with implications for the entire region, the decision adopted by Venezuela to suspend the activities of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in that country and expel those who work there«says the letter, advanced to EFE.
«That act, together with the arrest of Rocío San Miguela prominent security expert and defender of human rights in Venezuela, create a gloomy outlook for the future of Venezuelan democracy,” states the manifesto that is also signed by the former president of Bolivia Eduardo Rodríguez and the former ministers of Foreign Affairs Rafael Bielsa (Argentina). , Jorge Castañeda (Mexico), Gustavo Fernández (Bolivia), Mariano Fernández (Chile), Diego García Sayán (Peru), José Ángel Gurría (Mexico), Edgar Gutiérrez (Guatemala) and Enrique Iglesias (Uruguay).
Also signing the manifesto are former foreign ministers María Angela Holguín (Colombia), José Miguel Insulza (Chile), Grace Jaramillo (Ecuador)Celso Lafer (Brazil), Susana Malcorra (Argentina), María Emma Mejía (Colombia), Heraldo Muñoz (Chile), Javier Murillo (Bolivia), Felipe Solá (Argentina) and Allan Wagner (Peru), in addition to the former Minister of Finance of Colombia José Antonio Ocampo.
What happens in Venezuela affects the entire region
«For the rest of Latin America, what happens in Venezuela is no stranger, especially if it confronts the United Nations and the full validity of human rights. We have reached a year where a presidential election is approaching, but The tendency assumed by the Government of Venezuela against opponents and critics of its policies anticipate a null recognition of the results of that electoral consultation«says the manifesto.
The politicians, diplomats and academics who form the Latin American Reflection Table – a mechanism without a permanent structure that sometimes pronounces on key issues in the region – consider that “The Government of President (Nicolás) Maduro has broken the commitments agreed in Barbados between the ruling party and the opposition”in reference to the unprecedented agreement signed in that Caribbean country in mid-October last year that In theory it would allow free elections in 2024.
“Venezuelan democracy will only recover the path towards a condition of respect in the world if its citizens can cast their vote in a scenario of full validity of human rights and political freedoms where plurality is effective,” the writing emphasizes.
“The deficiencies under which the Venezuelan people live are evident (…), food is precarious and poverty has increased, while the migration of several million permeates several countries in the hemisphere”express the signatories of the manifesto.
Authoritarian obstinacy
Furthermore, they draw attention to the fact that “the collaborators of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (whose activities have been suspended by the Government of Nicolás Maduro) have been there to detect the reality and from those truths contribute to designing the government plans to overcome them.
«Expelling them for doing their job only expresses political myopia and authoritarian obstinacy in maintaining power.r, above a joint look as a nation on the best ways to get out of the crisis,” they denounce.
Due to the seriousness of its effects for the entire region, “This reality cannot be foreign to the South American countries that constitute the Brasilia Consensus”launched in May 2023 and of which Venezuela is also a part, adds the manifesto.
In this regard, the signatories recall that the roadmap defined last October by this consultation mechanism, whose objective is to strengthen ties between the countries of South America, “calls for coherence in the governance and efficiency of each of the member countries.” to meet their objectives.
“The recent announcements by the Government of Venezuela go in the opposite direction and this calls for the greatest efforts of governments, political forces and the regional community to ensure that this dictatorial and anti-historical trend is not consolidated,” emphasizes the declaration, whose signatories assure that they will seek to “contribute as much as possible to that task.” EFE
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