The former president Luis Alberto Lacalle Herrera He assured that in Venezuela There was “a coup against popular sovereignty,” referring to the ratification of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) of that country of victory of Nicolas Maduro in the elections July 28th.
Lacalle Herrera highlighted “the clear decision of the Venezuelans to elect President of the Republic Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia”, by signing a joint declaration with 29 other former presidents who are part of the Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas (IDEA).
“We base this statement on the concealment of the voting records and in the lack of public scrutiny that should have been carried out exclusively, autonomously, transparently and constitutionally by the National Electoral Council, as a constituted public power,” said the former presidents, who also mentioned the technical reports of the UN, the OAS and the Carter Center.
Criticism of the “impartiality” of the TSJ and a call to the international community
On the other hand, Lacalle Herrera and the other signatories warned about “the lack of independence and impartiality of the Supreme Court of Justice and the National Electoral Council of Venezuela”, accusing them of having “played a role within the repressive machinery of the State.”
If Maduro’s victory is ratified, “a final blow will have been dealt to all the essential elements of democracy in Venezuela”, the former heads of state insisted.
Finally, they called again on democratic governments and the international community to “prevent the consolidation of the coup d’état that is taking place in Venezuela and take real and effective measures against those responsible for the attack on democratic order and the crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in that country.”
Among the signatories is the former president of Argentina, Mauricio Macri, as well as his peers Spain, Jose Maria Aznar and Mariano Rajoy; Mexico, Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderon; and Colombia, Ivan Duque, Andres Pastrana and Alvaro Uribe.
It was also signed by former presidents Mario Abdo Benítez, Federico Franco and Juan Carlos Wasmosy (Paraguay); Nicolas Ardito, Mireya Moscoso and Ernesto Perez Valladares (Panama); Oscar Arias, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, Laura Chinchilla, Rafael Angel Calderon, Miguel Angel Rodriguez and Luis Guillermo Solis (Costa Rica); Alfredo Cristiani (El Salvador); Eduardo Frei (Chili); Osvaldo Hurtado, Guillermo Lasso, Jamil Mahuad and Lenin Moreno (Ecuador); Hipolito Mejia (Dominican Republic); and Carlos Mesa and Jorge Tuto Quiroga (Bolivia).
Source: Ambito
