The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, is one of the international leaders that the president-elect of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, intends to include in the long list of guests for his upcoming inauguration on January 1, however, a 2019 order signed by the government of Jair Bolsonaro prevents him from entering the country.
In addition to Maduro, another hundred Venezuelan citizens are banned from entering the country as part of this decree ratified not only by Bolsonaro, but also by those who were his Ministers of Justice and Foreign Affairs at the time, Sergio Moro and Ernesto Araújo, reports the newspaper ‘O Globo’.
With the return of Lula to the Planalto Palace, Brazil’s relationship with Venezuela will change drastically since it will no longer recognize as head of the Venezuelan State the opposition candidate Juan Guaidó and the ambassador he appointed, Maria Teresa Belandria, a participant in Bolsonaro’s campaign and who already left the country by decision after the election results.
The issue has not yet been discussed by the teams in charge of organizing the transition of power and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has no intention of removing Maduro from that list, so his appearance at Lula’s inauguration would be frustrated.
This means that President Maduro will only be able to set foot in Brazil once Lula takes office and removes this measure, which was added to the closure of the Brazilian Embassy in Caracas, as well as the rest of consulates, and the adherence of resolutions of the Organization of American States (OAS) against the Venezuelan government and in support of Guaidó.
The newly elected government intends to resume relations with Venezuela, as other countries in the region, such as Colombia, have already done. Although it may take some time to send an ambassador to Caracas, since the Senate’s approval is required, the intention is to reopen diplomatic delegations as soon as possible.
