The former president of the Spanish Government José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero confirmed this Tuesday that he participated “in the facilitation task” so that the Venezuelan opposition leader, Edmundo González, could travel to Spain and was sure that “sooner or later” there will be attempts to arrive to a political solution.
“I hope so!” stressed Zapatero, who made these statements upon his arrival at the Ateneo de Madrid, where the book “Democracy and its Rights”, of which he is coordinator, was presented.
It is the first time that Zapatero participates in a public event after the Venezuelan elections of July 28, in which he participated as an observer within the Puebla Group, a political and academic forum that brings together representatives of the Latin American and southern European political left.
It is also the first to speak publicly about the elections, whose results are not recognized by the Venezuelan opposition nor by the international community, which continues to demand the electoral records.
Position
The former socialist president maintained that his position in Venezuela continues to be dialogue and achieving a peaceful solution through building consensus and that task, to be useful, he stressed, “requires discretion.”
As he said, “it is a right and a duty to maintain discretion, that is what mediators do” and this has been and will be his attitude, he defended against the criticism he has received for his silence and the accusations of being an accomplice of the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro. .
“I have always tried to find solutions, which have sometimes been close and other times not, and to help people with difficulties,” he replied to these accusations.
Regarding whether he facilitated the entry of Delcy and Jorge Rodríguez, two of the heavyweights of Venezuelan power, into the Spanish Embassy where they met with Edmundo González – who reported having been coerced to leave the country -, the Spanish politician limited himself to pointing out that led to “the solution that has existed.”
He also did not speak about whether he expected Maduro to make the electoral records public by insisting that he is not going to make evaluations of each other’s positions and appealed to preserve trust, and the only way to do so, he stressed, “is to maintain serenity and discretion”.
Future of Venezuela
Regarding the future of Venezuela, he pointed out that we must wait, betting on dialogue as a way to resolve conflicts.
Zapatero also spoke about the role of the Spanish Government, remembering, first of all, that at the time it recognized the opposition Juan Guaidó as president in charge of Venezuela and that he is the Executive that has helped Venezuelans the most in the world.
Furthermore, he now welcomes Edmundo González, for whom he expressed his “maximum respect,” and assured that he maintains a good relationship with the Venezuelan opponents.
The opposition Edmundo González, who is waiting for Spain to grant him political asylum, received the support of the Spanish Congress and Senate and the European Parliament, and has met with the head of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the former presidents Felipe González, José María Aznar and Mariano Rajoy.
Madrid / EFE
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2024-09-27 20:41:16