Brazil will send electoral observers to Venezuela after having rejected that possibility

Two observers will be sent by Brazil to the presidential elections in Venezuela / Photo: Courtesy

Brazil’s Supreme Electoral Court (TSE), which a month ago rejected an invitation from Nicolas Maduro’s government to send observers to the country’s July 28 presidential election, announced Wednesday that it has reviewed its decision and will send two observers.

Despite initially saying it would not send observers to Venezuela without explaining the reasons for its refusal, Brazil’s top electoral authority notified the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that it will send two of its technicians to the neighboring country.

According to the notification sent to the Foreign Ministry, they are the director of the Electoral Management Advisory Board of the TSE, Sandra Damiani, and the head of the Electoral Systems Coordination, José de Melo Cruz.

The Brazilian electoral court did not explain the reason for its change of decision.

In June, when he rejected an invitation from Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, there was controversy over that body’s decision to reject an observer mission announced by the European Union.

At the time, there were also doubts regarding the possible participation in the elections of opposition candidates to Maduro, several of whom were prevented from registering, and accusations by anti-Chavez supporters that the government was preparing to rigged the elections in order to stay in power.

Maduro, who is seeking re-election and has ruled Venezuela since the death of Hugo Chavez in 2013, is accused by the opposition of leading a regime that controls electoral authorities.

The government of then-President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022) broke relations with Venezuela because it considered that the country was governed by a dictatorship, a situation that was reversed by the progressive Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a former ally of Chávez, shortly following assuming office as head of state of Brazil.

Although several countries have accused Venezuela of violating the Barbados Agreement, by which the Maduro government committed to promoting transparent presidential elections this year in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions, Brazil says it is confident that the situation will return to normal.

Brasilia / EFE