It is really very difficult to understand – let alone justify – the perspective with which President Claudia Sheinbaum views the Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela. Civil society organizations from virtually across the ideological spectrum, international organizations and independent journalists have for years documented how the Chavista regime – and later the Madurista regime – systematically violated the rights of the Venezuelan population.
There is no doubt about it: the evidence is overwhelming. Chávez, then Maduro, put an end to checks and balances, co-opted the judicial system, controlled the media and dismantled, one by one, the organizations that guarantee a democratic and free life in Venezuela.
And yet, the Mexican president is incapable of condemning a regime that has expelled more than eight million Venezuelans, many of whom have made Mexico their refuge. The contrast is even more striking when we look at the positions of the region’s progressive leaders. Chilean President Gabriel Boric said it unequivocally: “There is no doubt about it. We face a dictatorship that falsifies elections, represses those who think differently, and is indifferent to the world’s largest exile. The Colombian left-wing government has not recognized the fraudulent results of Maduro’s last elections and the historic leader of the Brazilian left, Lula da Silva, demanded that the Venezuelan regime publish the minutes which would have accredited his victory. Faced with this regional chorus of condemnation – a left-wing chorus in fact – Sheinbaum opted for silence, protected by an accommodating foreign policy.
The surprising departure from Venezuela of opposition leader María Corina Machado represented a new opportunity for Mexico to take a critical stance. Sheinbaum let her pass again. If the president chooses not to speak about a persecuted figure – even on the right –; If you decide not to believe the civil organizations and international institutions that have rigorously documented systematic human rights violations, perhaps you could at least meet some of the thousands of Venezuelans who have come to Mexico, from all walks of life. Listening to their testimonies would reduce the margin of lukewarmness to zero.
Because if you don’t trust multilateral organizations or the dozens of global non-governmental organizations that have thoroughly investigated the Venezuelan case, a key question remains:
With what objective does the president look at the Venezuelan reality? What interest is there behind this?
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