Argentina abstained from the OAS resolution which …

The national government abstained from voting on an Organization of American States (OAS) resolution calling the legislative elections held in Venezuela “fraudulent.” last Sunday. The Argentine Ambassador to the OAS, Carlos Raimundi, explained the position of the Foreign Ministry – supported by President Alberto Fernández, according to sources from the Foreign Ministry – arguing that “those who attended the ‘electoral act cannot be ignored in Venezuela “, while reminding the government of Nicolás Maduro that” it must recognize that a democracy is complete when the majority of its people feel committed “.

“The Argentine Republic reaffirms its commitment to facilitate dialogue between the parties in the search for a political solution to the crisis in Venezuela. It reaffirms its position regarding the importance of the electoral route as the only way to advance towards the necessary institutional renewal, which leads to the full validity of democracy and human rights, to the recovery of the Venezuelan economy and to the well-being of its people, ”Carlos Raimundi said at an extraordinary session of the Permanent Council of the ‘OAS.

The Ambassador thus justified Argentina’s abstention position against the treatment of a draft resolution referring to the elections held in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, where the ruling party obtained 68% of the votes. This resolution, which was supported by 21 American countries – as The United States, Brazil, Chile, Canada, Colombia, Paraguay, among several other nations that systematically accompany any challenge to the Maduro government– argued that the legislative elections lacked “impartiality and transparency”.

Faced with this position, the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through Raimundi, stressed that the international community could not ignore the 31% of Venezuelans who had stood for election. “It is not possible from the outside to ignore the will expressed by those who witnessed the electoral act or to dictate the conditions of the electoral processes without contributing the least in the world or, even worse, to encourage their boycott. “he warns. “The policy of sanctions and non-recognition has led to nothing and deserves reflection. At the same time the Venezuelan government must admit that a democracy is complete when the majority of the population feels committed to it. The main responsibility for the positive dialogue that must take place was and remains the government of the Republic of Venezuela itself. We hope that our Venezuelan brothers can find the best way to solve their problems, ”Raimundi told the OAS Permanent Council.

“What Raimundi argued is what the government has held about the elections in Venezuela from the start: the will of those who are going to vote, whether many or few, cannot be ignored, but we let us point out to the Venezuelan government that a democracy is truly complete when the majorities are engaged ”, indicated PageI12.

In this sense, from the surroundings of Felipe Solá they differentiated the decision to abstain from the rejection by the OAS of the Venezuelan elections from the decision to support, in October, the UN report which condemned the human rights situation in Venezuela. In this sense, Alberto Fernández’s position has always been to endorse the report prepared by former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. “You have to put every vote in context. One thing is the OAS, run by Luis Almagro and hegemonized by the United States, and another thing is the UN Commission on Human Rights, where the Argentina has a lot of prestige acquired thanks to its policies Memory, Truth and Justice. Anyway, the position is always the same and it is very clear: no blockade, no sanctions, no foreign intervention, no promotion of a coup; Venezuela must be helped to move forward in dialogue and participation. Does that mean endorsing human rights violations? No, ”they said bluntly from the Chancellery.

Raimundi also stressed that “the current National Assembly will expire on January 5 because it is established by Venezuelan norms”, so it would be “contradictory” to state that “the only way out for Venezuela is a presumed transitional government and at the same time, despise the importance of complying with the Venezuelan Constitution. ”Finally, after his presentation to the Permanent Council of the organization, the Argentine Ambassador to the OAS stressed: “We regret that the OAS has not been able to move forward to help strengthen the democratic process in Venezuela to which the draft resolution under consideration does nothing.”.

Report: María Cafferata.