Ricardo Pascoe Pierce
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Mexico, and Spain signed a joint statement rejecting “military actions carried out unilaterally in Venezuelan territory” and affirming their “commitment to the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.” Furthermore, the statement establishes that unilateral military actions “contravene fundamental principles of international law, in particular the prohibition of the use and threat of force, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States…”.
Notably, the governments of these countries call for “peaceful means, through dialogue, negotiation, and respect for the will of the Venezuelan people” as a solution to the problems, in a process “led by Venezuelans.” They also urged “the United Nations and its member states with relevant multilateral mechanisms to use their goodwill to help de-escalate tensions and preserve regional peace.” Finally, they also reject “any attempt at government control, administration, or external appropriation of natural or strategic resources that is incompatible with international law.”
The statement issued by these five countries is, from beginning to end, not only an act of profound hypocrisy on the part of the signatory governments. It is an attempt to cover up their absolute lack of intellectual, ethical, and political honesty. None of these five countries lifted a finger to point out and condemn the actions contrary to human rights that Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorship carried out daily. None of these governments, except for Chile, dared to demand Maduro’s resignation after he committed the most blatant electoral fraud in recent Latin American history. Maduro’s government imposed itself against the will of the majority of Venezuelans in the last elections.
None of these governments failed to recognize Maduro’s de facto government. Some openly, others indirectly, but all of them endorsed the electoral fraud in Venezuela and allowed the dictator imposed by brute force, repression, disappearances, and murder to continue on his path. They endorsed Cuba’s help in turning Venezuela into a police state, without protesting and maintaining cordial diplomatic relations with both dictatorships. Now they protest the use of force by the United States to overthrow the dictator. They criticize the use of force by enemies, but they do not criticize the same when friends use force.
On top of the hypocrisy of their stance on the repressive and illegal behavior of Maduro’s “friendly government,” they do not have the courage or dignity to mention “Washington,” “the United States,” or “President Trump” anywhere in the statement. Their cowardice even reaches that level, as if by not mentioning it, they would avoid the wrath of their dangerous, powerful ally.
Brazil and Mexico are particularly deplorable in this case. Instead of publicly and privately forcing Maduro to change his behavior, they let it slide. The two supposedly leftist countries, but endorsing a fierce dictatorship, want to be respected international actors when all they have done is give up and let the electoral fraud slide. They must have thought, “It is more politically costly to criticize a ‘fellow travel comrade’ than to let it go, in silence, hoping that no one will associate us with the unpleasant business of a dictatorship.”
Mexico is a “leftist” government that is useless in this case. It has always endorsed Maduro’s dictatorship and his use of repression and brute force to stay in power. Now it is taking a ridiculous stance of indignation at the equally terrible use of force by the United States to overthrow Maduro. Hypocrisy does Mexico no good when it wants to be a valid counterpart to the United States and Canada in the renegotiation of the CUSMA/USMCA/T-MEC. Lies and double standards will haunt the Mexican government for the rest of the presidential term. What a useless left!
@rpascoep
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