In a statement, the Brazilian government says it was surprised by the personal attacks
(EBC) Amid the escalation of diplomatic tensions by the Venezuelan government in recent days, the Itamaraty Palace said on Friday (1st) in a note that it notes “with surprise the offensive tone adopted by demonstrations by Venezuelan authorities in relation to Brazil and its national symbols”.
The note from the Brazilian Foreign Ministry was issued two days after Venezuela summoned its ambassador to Brazil for consultations to repudiate 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 in Brazil, the Bolivarian government summoned the Brazilian Chargé d’Affaires in Caracas to express an official repudiation.
Venezuela, including President Nicolás Maduro himself, accuses Brazil of having vetoed the country’s entry into the BRICS group during the organization’s summit last week in Kazan, Russia.
“The option for personal attacks and rhetorical escalations, instead of political and diplomatic channels, does not correspond to the respectful way in which the Brazilian government treats Venezuela and its people. Brazil has always held the principle of non-intervention in high regard and fully respects the sovereignty of each country, especially that of its neighbors,” the statement said.
Also according to the statement from Itamaraty, “the Brazilian government’s interest in the Venezuelan electoral process stems, among other factors, from its status as a witness to the Barbados Agreements, to which it was invited, as well as for the monitoring of the July 28 election,” it argues. “The Brazilian government remains convinced that partnerships should be based on frank dialogue, respect for differences and mutual understanding,” the note concludes.
On Tuesday (29), Celso Amorim took part in a public hearing in the Foreign Relations and National Defense Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, and denied that Brazil had vetoed Venezuela’s entry into the BRICS group. Lula’s advisor admitted to “unease” between the two countries over the electoral process that gave Nicolás Maduro another term, but which is questioned by part of the international community for the lack of transparency over the voting records, a procedure that was agreed by previous agreements between the country’s political groups, in mediation that included the participation of the Brazilian government, such as the Barbados Accords, mentioned in the Itamaraty note. On that occasion, according to Amorim, the decision not to join the BRICS was taken 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 [Foreign] Minister Mauro Vieira, who represented Lula at the BRICS summit, promised during the negotiations that took place in Russia that he would not prevent Venezuelans from entering. According to Maduro, who attended the summit, the two met at the end of the event and the Venezuelan questioned the Brazilian veto. According to the president, the Brazilian chancellor reaffirmed that he had not vetoed Venezuela.
The Venezuelan president also harshly criticized Itamaraty, saying that the ministry has a history of being linked to the US State Department. Maduro also said that the person responsible for the alleged veto on the country was Eduardo Saboia, secretary for Asia and the Pacific at Itamaraty and Brazil’s main negotiator in the BRICS.
In another demonstration, the Bolivarian National Police posted, on their official social network, a montage in which an image of Lula, with his face blurred and a Brazilian flag in the background, is printed with the phrase “El 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 was up until Friday, was deleted after an official note from Itamaraty.