Guillermo Lasso will invite Juan Guaidó to his …

Ecuador’s president-elect Guillermo Lasso has started forging alliances abroad. At his first press conference after Sunday’s elections, Lasso assured that he would invite Juan Guaidó, the self-proclaimed president of Venezuela, to his inauguration. Instead, he said he would not do the same with the current Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro. At the same time, the Venezuelan opposition thanked Lasso for his intention to extend the regularization of migrants from the Caribbean country to Ecuador.

“Venezuela does not live in a democracy today, it is a reality 50 countries ignore Maduro government and recognize Juan Guaidó as the legitimate president of Venezuela. But beyond the statements, we have to come to a real practice, that whoever rules Venezuela really has the power and that there is an open question, “Lasso told international media. The banker from Guayaquil pointed out that during his investiture will not invite Maduro but Juan Guaidó, and who “answers all questions” about his position vis-à-vis Venezuela.

The 65-year-old businessman mentioned his support for the Venezuelan people in the face of what he believes to be a struggle to “regain democracy” in the country. Lasso also assured that will encourage “the wider regularization of Venezuelans who are in Ecuador”.

The elected president assured that “humanitarian reasons” oblige Ecuador to regularize the migratory situation of tens of thousands of Venezuelans arrived in the country. “Without a doubt implies greater stress for the Ecuadorian economy at a time when there are no jobs for Ecuadorians, but we will call for international financial support to finance projects of regularization and incorporation into the economy, ”he said.

“We cannot be so inconsistent in demanding good treatment for Ecuadorians living abroad and mistreating foreigners living in Ecuador. We have to be cohesive and consistent, it’s a two-way street and in the case of Venezuelans, we will work closely with the United Nations, ”Lasso said of an international meeting in June at which he will officially present its position.

Ecuadorian authorities say more than 350,000 Venezuelans live in the country. Most are in the province of Pichincha, where the capital, Quito, is located. Since 2019, when Ecuador began to regulate the migratory situation of Venezuelans, at least 192,000 people of this nationality have received a humanitarian visa for two years and can only be renewed once.

The Venezuelan opposition quickly echoed Lasso’s promises. “It’s great news that President-elect Guillermo Lasso announces that he will advance the regularization of Venezuelans residing in Ecuador.Guaidó’s foreign representative said on Twitter, Julio Borges. A fierce opponent of the Maduro government, Borges met with the President’s principal advisor for Latin America, Juan González, on Monday to discuss “political and humanitarian issues”.