Lula affirms that Maduro’s return to Venezuela “is not a priority” but “strengthening democracy” is

The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has stated that the return of Nicolás Maduro to Venezuela after his arrest a month ago, within the framework of a United States operation on Caracas, “is not the main concern” and “strengthening democracy” in that country is, an issue, he has clarified, that corresponds to Venezuelans. “We have to let them solve their problems,” he said.

“Are there conditions to ensure that democracy is respected in Venezuela and the people can actively participate? Because what is at stake is whether they are going to improve the lives of the people or not,” he assessed in an interview for the UOL portal.

Lula has insisted on Latin America as a “zone of peace” and on his idea of ​​defending all those political processes that serve the economic and democratic development of the entire region. “That goes for Venezuela,” he said.

In the same way, he has reiterated the need for Washington and Caracas to understand each other and has recalled that in the past he already urged the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez to iron out differences with his then counterpart, George W. Bush.

PEACE COUNCIL FOR GAZA

President Lula has also confirmed that he will be in Washington during the first week of March and that he hopes to speak with his American counterpart, Donald Trump, “face to face” about any issue, at a time when certain tariffs on Brazilian exports still remain.

One of these issues is the situation in the Gaza Strip, on which attacks by Israeli forces continue to fall despite the ceasefire announced in October.

Regarding the Peace Council proposed by President Trump for the management of the Palestinian enclave, Lula has indicated that Brazil is willing to participate “if it serves to “rebuild Gaza”, however, he considers that the initiative is more similar to a project to build resorts.

“I want to know who is going to rebuild the houses, the hospitals, the bakeries, the bars, that were destroyed, because the lives of 75,000 women and children will never return (…) Brazil has every interest in participating, but the Palestinians have to be present,” he stressed.