The European Parliament “firmly” condemned this Thursday the “election fraud” in the Venezuelan presidential elections of July 28, of which he declared himself the winner Nicolas Maduroand recognized the opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutiaexiled in Spain, as the “legitimate and democratically elected president of Venezuela.” The resolution was adopted by 309 votes in favor, 201 against and 12 abstentions.
The European Parliament calls for the Union and its Member States to “do their utmost to ensure that the legitimate and democratically elected President” will be able to take up his duties on January 10, 2025in accordance with the Venezuelan Constitution.”
The European Parliament”also recognizes Maria Corina Machado as leader of the democratic forces in Venezuela, since she was elected in the primaries of the Unitary Platform in 2023 with 92.35% of the votes.
[La UE acuerda no reconocer la victoria de Maduro pero tampoco al líder de la oposición]
Instead, MEPs rejected another paragraph of the resolution which called on the European Union and all its member states to follow in Parliament’s footsteps and also recognise Gonzalez Urrutia as legitimate president.
The joint resolution was prepared by the European People’s Party (PPE) and by two radical right groups in the European Parliament: the European Conservatives and Reformiststhe group of Giorgia Meloni and the Law and Justice Poles, and the Patriots for Europethe faction led by Hungarian Viktor Orbán, in which Vox and Marine Le Pen are also active. This is the first time in Parliament that the popular parties have broken with the grand coalition with the socialists and liberals – with which they re-elected Ursula von der Leyen as President of the Commission – and are seeking an alternative right-wing majority.
Socialists, Greens and Radical Left voted against the resolution, precisely because the recognition of González Urrutia as the legitimate president was for them a red lineFor their part, the Renew liberals, who defended an intermediate position, were absent from the vote in protest against the EPP agreement with the radical right groups.
“We would have liked, like the opposition platform to Nicolas Maduro, that a dialogue had taken place here in the European Parliament and that an attempt had been made to reach a common resolution, avoiding partisanship and alignment with the extreme right“We hope that on January 10, Nicolás Maduro will not be sworn in as president,” lamented the PNV MEP. Oihane Agirregoitiathe negotiator on behalf of the Liberals.
For his part, the leader of Vox in Strasbourg, Jorge Buxadeattacked the PP MEP Esteban Gonzalez Pons for questioning the participation and support of Patriots for Europe in the resolution on Venezuela. “Not only does it have our support and signature, but this political group has played a substantial role in drafting the best text in defense of freedom and the rule of law in Venezuela (…) We will not tolerate lies or hoaxes“Apologize if your pride allows it,” Buxadé told González Pons.
The resolution approved “Insta “We urge regional actors and the international community to exert all possible pressure on the Maduro regime and its closest circle to accept the democratic will of the Venezuelan people, by recognizing Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate and democratically elected president of Venezuela.”
The European Parliament warns that “if a peaceful transfer of power and the restoration of democracy do not take place by 10 January 2025, There will be a new migratory exodus to other countries in the regionsimilar to the one that has led nearly eight million Venezuelans to flee the country in recent years.”
