Lula’s call for South American unity encounters conflicting views on Venezuela

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Diverging views on Venezuela emerged at a summit of South American leaders on Tuesday hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as he seeks to unite the region’s development and give it a stronger voice internationally.

Lula urged the twelve South American countries to overcome the ideological differences that divided the region and unite efforts towards greater economic, cultural and social integration.

But their first continental rally in nearly a decade brought opposing views to the fore when the presidents of Chile, the leftist, and Uruguay, the conservative, criticized Lula’s embrace of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro as a democratically elected leader.

Lula, who seeks to restore Brazil’s leading role in foreign affairs, rejected the criticism. The United States, Western countries and other critics regard Venezuela’s government as “authoritarian” and have imposed sanctions in an attempt to pressure the country into holding new elections.

“I have always advocated the idea that every country has sovereignty to decide its own political system and internal affairs,” he said at a press conference after the meeting.

Lula met Maduro on Monday on the Venezuelan president’s first visit to Brazil in eight years as the two countries restored diplomatic ties amid the conference that brought together heads of state from various South American countries.

He told reporters that there is “very big” prejudice against the country and that Venezuela’s “anti-democratic” image is a “narrative” promoted by Western countries with harsh sanctions that exacerbate the country’s humanitarian and economic crisis.

Uruguay’s President Luis Lacalle Pou on Tuesday challenged Lula’s remarks directly.

“I was surprised when you said that what happened in Venezuela is a narrative. You already know what we think about Venezuela and the Venezuelan government,” he said at a meeting of presidents in comments posted on Instagram live.

Most of the world, Lacalle Poe said, was “trying to mediate so that democracy is full in Venezuela, that they have human rights, and that there are no political prisoners. And the worst thing we can do is block out the sun.”

Later, Chilean President Gabriel Boric told reporters outside the summit that he disagreed with Lula’s remarks.

“It’s not a narrative construct. It’s factual and dangerous,” Borik said, adding that respect for human rights is “fundamental and important” for Chile.

Referring to the 5,000 Venezuelan refugees living in Chile, “they also demand a firm and clear stance on the fact that human rights must always be respected.”

The meeting’s joint statement said South America was committed to democracy, human rights, sustainable development and social justice, but added that countries in the region agreed to respect diversity and the principle of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.

Maduro addressed Lacalle Pou’s remarks, saying that history will be the final arbiter and added that unity among South American countries must be based on a new multipolar world.

“There are presidents with diverse visions,” he said after the meeting. “We have no problem sitting down to talk to any political force or president in a respectful and tolerant dialogue of unity in diversity, that’s what we had here,” Maduro said.

Integration amidst differences

Lula urged state banks to work together to finance development and said the region should reduce reliance on “currencies from outside the region” for trade. He also proposed the creation of a regional energy market and proposed coordinated actions to address climate change.

Lula said that integration in South America had been stalled in recent years by conservative governments, targeting his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro who, he said, isolated Brazil from the world and its neighbours.

Ideological divisions have undermined an earlier attempt at regional cooperation called Unasur set up by left-wing presidents in 2008 that faltered when several countries elected right-wing governments, triggering diplomatic rifts on the continent.

Maduro, who recently restored ties with Colombia, hopes South American countries will unite in calling on the United States to lift its sanctions against Venezuela, which he and Lula criticized in their press conference as unfair.

The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on criticism of the sanctions against Venezuela.

(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguaso and Anthony Bodel); Editing by Brad Haynes, Shri Navaratnam and Aurora Ellis

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