Brazilian Foreign Ministry Criticizes Venezuelan Government's Recent Measures

02/25/2015 - 09h07

In a statement published on Tuesday (24) night, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry expressed a degree of alarm with the recent actions of the Maduro administration in Venezuela.

"The measures taken in recent days are motives for growing concern, as they directly affect political parties and democratically elected representatives", the statement read.

In the last week, the mayor of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma, was arrested in his office on charges of conspiracy to overthrow the government, while on Monday (23), the conservative party Copei had its headquarters invaded and occupied by a group of people, with the support of the police.

Last Friday (20), the Foreign Ministry said it was monitoring "with great concern the evolution of the situation in Venezuela", without going into detail about specific measures taken by the Maduro administration.

In contrast, on the same day, President Rousseff said that Ledezma's detention was a Venezuelan "internal matter".

In Tuesday's (24) statement, the Foreign Ministry did not mention Ledezma specifically, but did say that the recent measures have affected political parties and democratically elected representatives.

As Folha has learned, the new statement reflects the Brazilian government's belief that the political situation in Venezuela has worsened since Ledezma was arrested.

Nonetheless, the statement still acknowledges Maduro's position, suggesting that the "initiatives aimed at shortening the presidential mandate" are also causes for "growing concern".

"The Brazilian government continues to monitor with great concern the events in Venezuela, especially through the Unasur Commission of Foreign Ministers, comprised of the foreign ministers of Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador, and through direct contact with the Venezuelan government", the statement says.

Translated by TOM GATEHOUSE

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	The body of 14-year-old student Kluiver Roa is carried after he died during a protest in the western city of San Cristobal, Venezuela