Brazil abstains in the OAS in revocation of Guaidó in the body and text in support of Ukraine

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Brazil, Mexico and Argentina declined to sign a declaration of support for Ukraine and condemnation of Russia read this Thursday (6) at the OAS (Organization of American States) General Assembly in Lima. The document, which does not constitute a decision of the body, was presented by Guatemala and applauded by the United States.

Entitled “Continuous support for the end of Russian aggression in Ukraine”, the text declares the “renewed and forceful condemnation of the illegal, unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine”, highlighting concern “at the indifference and contempt on the part of the Russian Federation to the appeals […] for the withdrawal of its military forces from Ukraine”.

In the Assembly, the Brazilian delegation abstained in another vote this Thursday – which gave another sign of the political weakening of Juan Guaidó. In the decision, only four countries voted in favor of maintaining the credentials of representatives of the Venezuelan opposition in the bloc’s meetings. The final result, however, did not change the situation, as the repeal depended on the support of two-thirds of the members.

The Brazilian abstention, to a certain extent, contrasts with the support given by President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), a staunch critic of the Nicolás Maduro dictatorship, to the opposition. Another eight countries abstained, including right-wing governments Ecuador, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Uruguay.

Nineteen voted for repeal, reinforcing Latin America’s shift to the left. Among them, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico and Colombia. The latter has recently strengthened ties with Maduro — at the end of September, the leftist Gustavo Petro partially reopened the borders, in a planned approach since his campaign. The US, Canada, Paraguay and Guatemala, in turn, voted in favor of Guaidó.

In theory, the OAS recognizes the opponent as president, who has proclaimed himself the country’s leader, since 2019. Since then, however, he has been losing strength and legitimacy – last year, the European Union stopped recognizing him as head of government.

Ahead of Thursday’s vote in Lima, diplomats at the OAS held a debate over the number of active members of the organization. The sum was fundamental to define the minimum score for the approval of the text; the imbroglio surrounded the participation of Cuba, which left the organization in the 1960s.

In the end, the OAS Secretary for Legal Affairs, Jean Michel Arrighi, maintained that Cuba was “suspended”, not necessarily excluded, and that, therefore, the organization has 35 members.

The diplomats also discussed the exclusion of Venezuela, as requested by the regime in 2019. But, according to OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro, the exit process was not completed due to the country’s debts of “a few million dollars” with the organization.

“Here, no one has won today. Once again the OAS has lost credibility,” said Ronald Sanders, ambassador for Antigua and Barbuda – a country that led efforts to revoke the credentials of Guaidó’s representatives. He stated that his delegation will not recognize discussions that include the vote of representatives of the opposition.

On another front, this Thursday’s meeting opened with a message recorded by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, who invoked Latin American leaders to ask for support for his country. “Which side would Simón Bolívar be on in the war that Russia unleashed against Ukraine? Who would José de San Martín support? Who would Miguel Hidalgo sympathize with? I don’t think they would help someone who is looting a smaller country,” he pointed out.

In March, the OAS had already called for an end to “war crimes” in Ukraine, in a resolution supported by 28 of the bloc’s 34 active members — Brazil abstained. A month later, Russia was suspended as a permanent observer of the organization.

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