Former President Cardoso: UNASUR Must "Pay a Lot of Attention" to Venezuelan Elections

11/11/2015 - 11h07

The former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso has called on the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) to "pay a lot of attention" to the Venezuelan parliamentary elections in December.

UNASUR is due to send observers to Venezuela.

"We need to pay a lot of attention to what's happening in Venezuela, because there isn't a climate of freedom," said Cardoso.

"Venezuela isn't Brazil. Here we can criticize, we are free, we aren't afraid of being arrested. But there people are being arrested, government pressure is very strong."

Cardoso has been a prominent critic of the Venezuelan government's decision to jail the opposition leader Leopoldo López.

At the end of October, one of the main figures responsible for the case against López, the prosecutor Franklin Nieves, alleged that the trial had been influenced. López was sentenced to nearly 14 years in jail for inciting violent protests.

Cardoso said that Brazil in particular needs to be proactive in the mission to Venezuela. "Brazil needs to be clear about what is right and wrong. Brazil must defend human rights and democracy in Venezuela."

Even before being formed, the mission had already produced a messy diplomatic row.

With Venezuela opposing the appointment of ex-minister Nelson Jobim as head of the mission, and with the project behind schedule, the Higher Electoral Court (TSE) announced that Jobim would not participate.

Instead, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry has sought judges and other specialists who have worked at the TSE and who agreed to participate.

Translated by TOM GATEHOUSE

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