Jul 31, 2024 - 23:29
By cbc.ca

As Venezuela courts chaos, some of Maduro's allies demand receipts of election win

Traditional allies appear to have abandoned Nicolas Maduro as protests rock Venezuela in the wake of Sunday's election, which the longtime president claims to have won with 51.2 per cent of the vote.

Maduro was quickly recognized as the winner by Cuba, Nicaragua, Honduras and Bolivia, as well as Russia, China and Iran. But he got no recognition from nominally left-wing governments in the region's biggest countries: Brazil, Mexico and Colombia.

«The heavy-hitting diplomatic players in the region have demanded proof [of his win],» said Christopher Hernandez-Roy of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

«I think the three of them have realized that the level of fraud is just so astronomically huge that nobody in their right mind can believe this result, and so it would be very difficult for them to join the usual chorus of leftist governments congratulating Maduro for his victory.»

The Atlanta-based Carter Center, which had deployed observers in Venezuela, said on Tuesday evening that the election «did not meet international standards of electoral integrity and cannot be considered democratic.»

The U.S. and Canada have been somewhat subdued in their reactions to Maduro's claim of victory.

Washington and Ottawa are calling on Venezuela to release detailed vote results, as is the European Union, but neither the U.S. nor Canada has yet formally declared rival candidate Edmundo González the winner.

The Trudeau government took a much more active role five years ago, when Juan Guaido emerged as a rival president to Maduro. Canada hosted the Venezuelan opposition in Ottawa and, with Peru, formed the Lima Group of countries that wanted to oust Maduro by peaceful means.