Chilean President Gabriel Boric also questioned Lula for Venezuela: 'It is not a narrative, but a serious reality'

The president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, said in Brasilia that the situation in Venezuela "is not a construction of a narrative" but "a serious reality", when leaving at the intersection of the statements of his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who yesterday relaunched bilateral relations with President Nicolás Maduro.

Lula's rapprochement with Maduro at the Planalto Palace on Monday set the tone for today's South American summit, with which the Brazilian tries to relaunch Unasur, to which seven of the 12 countries in the region belong.

During his participation in the summit, Boric celebrated Maduro's return to regional forums, but clarified that Chile will continue to affirm its position on human rights in Venezuela.

"It is the first opportunity we have to share space with Maduro and we are happy that Venezuela returns and it is in this honest, direct space that we solve the problems, which does not mean turning a blind eye to the problems. There is a discrepancy in the statements of President Lula, it is not a construction of a narrative, it is a serious reality and I saw it in the eyes of Venezuelans who arrived in our country," he told reporters at a stop of the meeting.

Luis Lacalle Pou and Nicolás Maduro in the background. AFP Photo

Human rights

Boric said that human rights "must be respected always and everywhere regardless of the political color of the current ruler" "As a leftist president, it was important to confront Maduro head-on for the first time in an international forum, but we also ask the United States and the European Union to end the sanctions, that weaken the people and not the governments," he said.

Boric said Maduro's return to regional forums does not mean "sweeping under the rug" human rights problems in Venezuela.

He also affirmed that he supported Lula in the creation of a South American forum, although he assured that today no conclusions can be drawn about the possible return of Chile to Unasur.

In the same vein, Uruguayan Luis Lacalle Pou spoke earlier, criticizing the tone with which Lula returned to receive Maduro at the Planalto Palace, after eight years of estrangement between Caracas and Brasilia.

The Uruguayan president was vehement in rejecting the statements made yesterday by Lula when receiving his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro, when he assured that "a narrative has been built regarding Venezuela."

All presidents with Lula da Silva in the center, in Brasilia. AFP Photo

Surprise

"I was surprised when it was said that what is happening in Venezuela is a narrative. You know what we think about Venezuela and the Government of Venezuela. Now if there are so many groups in the world trying to mediate so that democracy is full in Venezuela (...) the worst thing we can do is cover the sun with a finger. Let's name it after it and help," he said.

The summit was not publicly displayed. Only Lula's opening speech was released and the rest by decision of the Brazilian government was not transmitted, seeking to be a day of honest reflection, especially since it is the first meeting of this level in eight years.

See also

Luis Lacalle Pou answered Lula and asks South America "not to cover the sun with a finger" on Venezuela

Lula da Silva-Nicolás Maduro: human rights are not talked about