South American foreign ministers meet in Lima to discuss Venezuelan crisis
Foreign ministers from South American countries will meet in Lima, Peru, today (Aug. 8) to discuss the situation in Venezuela. The meeting comes days after MERCOSUR suspended Venezuela for disrupting democratic order. Brazil's Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes will attend.
The meeting proposed by Peru's government “aims at strengthening the regional dialogue in view of the deepening of the Venezuelan crisis,” according to a statement from Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Brazilian government, which currently holds the rotating presidency of MERCOSUR, says it will take the opportunity to underscore the understanding that led the founding countries of MERCOSUR to suspend Venezuela last Saturday (5), based on the provisions of the Protocol of Ushuaia signed in 1998.
“The latest actions by the Government of [Venezuelan President] Nicolás Maduro, such as the convening of an illegitimate Constituent Assembly, have confirmed, once again, the rupture of the democratic order in the neighboring country,” the Foreign Ministry statement read.
The Brazilian government further said it will urge attending countries in Lima to send a message of solidarity with the Venezuelan people, demonstrating the region's commitment to the restoration of democracy in the country through dialogue and negotiation.
The suspension imposed on Saturday (5) follows another legal sanction late last year over Venezuela's noncompliance of agreements and treaties entered when it joined MERCOSUR, based on the Vienna Convention.
Pro- and anti-government demonstrations have surged in Venezuela since April. Many of them have turned violent, leaving 100 dead and more than 1,000 injured. On Friday (4), a new National Constituent Assembly was sworn in by Maduro's government, drawing criticism from MERCOSUR and angering the opposition, which refuses to recognize it.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: South American foreign ministers meet in Lima to discuss Venezuelan crisis
