The European Union has declared that the left-wing “strongman” Nicolás Maduro is the “de facto” president of Venezuela – despite concerns surrounding the country’s presidential elections in July.
While the incumbent Socialist leader had claimed to have won the vote, numerous governments — including the US — expressed doubt over the result, arguing that independently-gathered data indicated that opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia was the real victor.
Speaking on August 29, EU foreign affairs head Josep Borrell announced that, while the EU believes there were irregularities in the election result, the bloc would not be taking a similar stance to some of its allies.
Instead, Borrell said the bloc would continue to recognise Maduro as being Venezuela’s leader, all be he one without a democratic mandate.
“The Council decided that Maduro does not have the democratic legitimacy as president. He will remain President de facto, but we deny democratic legitimacy based on a result that cannot be verified,” Borrell said.
While he insisted such a declaration was a “strong statement” on the matter, Venezuelan activists have expressed concern.
“They do not mention anything about Edmundo Gonzalez who won the elections,” Juan Ramon Barrozzi of Venezuela-focused NGO Save My Identity told Brussels Signal on August 30.
“I want to think that it is a way of maintaining that a negotiated solution should be sought that may lead us to a new election process but they have not been clear or firm in their approach.”
Officials in the US have continued to push for Gonzalez to be recognised as having won the presidential election.
In a press release on August 29 marking one month since the election, US Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller repeated claims that Maduro “tampered with the results of that election, falsely claimed victory, and carried out wide-spread repression to maintain power”.
“The United States applauds the courage and resilience of the millions of Venezuelans who voted and who continue to peacefully call for Maduro to acknowledge that Edmundo González Urrutia received the most votes,” he said.
“In spite of repeated calls from Venezuelans and the international community, the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE) has failed to substantiate its announced results by producing original tally sheets, as it did following the 2013 and 2018 elections.
“Instead of responding to the Venezuelan people’s demands for transparency and democracy, Maduro has ratcheted up repression through politically targeted threats, unjust and indiscriminate detentions, and censorship in a desperate attempt to hold onto power by force.
“Maduro’s actions have exacerbated the Venezuelan crisis and left him increasingly isolated from the international community,” he added.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s outgoing High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has warned that a trade war between the EU and China “may be unavoidable.” https://t.co/cJnSo6Mjpe
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) August 22, 2024
