Brazil, Colombia and Mexico call for an “impartial verification” of the elections in Venezuela

Lula, Petro and López Obrador ask the electoral authorities to “move forward expeditiously” and release the results broken down by each voting table. The governments of Brazil, Mexico and Colombia called on the Venezuelan electoral authorities on Thursday to “expeditiously” publish the data “broken down by voting table” from Sunday’s elections, in which the National Electoral Council declared Nicolás Maduro the winner.

The three countries, led by progressive presidents, said in a joint statement that electoral disputes must be resolved through “institutional” means and that the principle of popular sovereignty must be respected through “impartial verification of the results.”

At the same time, the governments called on political actors to act with “maximum caution and restraint” during the protests to avoid “an escalation of violent episodes,” after at least 11 deaths and hundreds of arrests were reported.

“Maintaining social peace and protecting human lives must be the priority concerns at this time,” the joint statement said.

The executives also reiterated their “absolute respect” for the sovereignty of the popular will in Venezuela, as well as their willingness to assist in efforts to “dialogue and seek agreements.”

The CNE declared Nicolás Maduro the winner with 80% of the votes counted, over opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, in a result that was widely rejected by the opposition and by part of the international community.

Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Gustavo Petro of Colombia and Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico have avoided recognizing the results without cutting ties with the Maduro administration.

The three leaders abstained or avoided participating in the vote on a resolution of the Organization of American States (OAS) that called for, among other things, the immediate publication of the minutes of each electoral center.

Maduro’s government has already expelled diplomats from several countries in the region, including Argentina and Chile, whose leader, fellow progressive Gabriel Boric, has openly questioned the validity of the results.