In the hours following the doubts generated by the alleged victory of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, which was announced by the National Electoral Council controlled by Chavismo but without supporting information, several Latin American presidents expressed their concern about the process, including some from the left.
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However, Gustavo Petro, the president of Colombia, maintained an unusual silence on his social media accounts, as he has been known to be an active leader mainly on the "X" account (formerly Twitter).
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This caused Colombian political sectors to criticize the silence of the head of state, labeling him as "an accomplice of Maduro's dictatorship", and even though there was an official statement from the Colombian Foreign Ministry on behalf of the National Government, it was not enough for public opinion.
However, the long-awaited message from Petro arrived and, true to his custom, on the "X" account he gave his opinion on what happened in Venezuela.
What did Petro finally say about the elections in Venezuela?
"The serious doubts surrounding the Venezuelan electoral process can lead its people to deep violent polarization with serious consequences of permanent division of a nation that has known how to unite many times in its history. I invite the Venezuelan government to allow the elections to end peacefully by allowing a transparent scrutiny with vote counting, records, and oversight by all political forces in the country and professional international observers," begins the president's post.
Petro also proposed mediating between the government and the Venezuelan opposition, until the scrutiny finally decides who the true winner was: "We respectfully propose reaching an agreement between the government and opposition that allows for the utmost respect for the party that lost the elections. This agreement can be submitted as a Unilateral Declaration of State to the United Nations Security Council," he added.
The Colombian president also requested the government of the United States to "suspend the blockades and decisions against Venezuelan citizens. The blockade is an inhumane measure that only brings more hunger and violence than there already is, and promotes the massive exodus of peoples. Emigration to the US from Latin America will decrease substantially if the blockades are lifted. Free peoples know how to make their decisions."
Finally, Petro asked Maduro to "remember the spirit of Chávez" to return to calm, making it clear that "scrutiny is the end of every electoral process, it must be transparent and ensure peace and democracy. My votes for peace and democracy in Venezuela".
Until the publication of this article, Petro’s statements had not generated reactions from the Venezuelan government, and it is still unknown if they will take diplomatic retaliations, as they did against other countries such as Chile and Peru.