Macron and Lula criticize the exclusion of a rival from the presidential election

French President Emmanuel Macron and his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, on Thursday March 28 strongly criticized the exclusion of rival Corina Yorris from Venezuela’s July presidential election.

“We strongly condemn the exclusion of a serious and credible candidate from this process”Mr. Macron made the announcement during a press conference in Brasilia, at the end of a three-day official visit to Brazil. “We are calling for its restoration and I very much hope that we will be able to rebuild a structure like this in the coming weeks and months. Today we must not despair (…), But the situation is serious and has worsened with this decision taken.he added.

Lula, for his part, justice “serious” Nor was Corina Yoris able to register for the July 28 vote as a candidate for the opposition party to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who has been in power for eleven years. “There is no legal or political justification for barring a competitor from being a candidate”Estimates of the leftist president. “I told Maduro that the most important thing to restore normalcy in Venezuela is to avoid any problems in the electoral process, to call the elections as democratically as possible”he insisted.

Change in tone

Lula has long defended his Venezuelan counterpart in the face of criticism from the international community. “story” Accusations of Dictatorship. But Brazil changed its tune on Tuesday and spoke out “Concern over recent developments in electoral process in Venezuela”..

Lula’s criticisms were echoed in Washington on Thursday. “The United States is not alone in being deeply concerned, our regional partners share this concern.”Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the US State Department, called for the election to be held “Free and Fair”.

Corina Yoris was named as the candidate to replace opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was declared ineligible. Also^me Yoris, a former ambassador and political scientist, was unable to register without being cleared by the National Electoral Council (CNE), before accepting the candidacy of Edmundo González Urrutia.

At the same time, opposition heavyweight Manuel Rosales also registered, he said, an alternative proposal. But his candidacy has sparked mistrust among the opposition, with some highlighting his regular contacts with power since he was governor.

Nicolás Maduro, 61, succeeded his mentor Hugo Chávez (1999-2013) after his death. More than 60 countries, including the United States, did not recognize his re-election in 2018, boycotted by the opposition. This non-recognition led to economic sanctions specifically targeting the oil sector.