The government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) will send a representative to Venezuela next week to start reopening the Brazilian embassy in the country.
Ambassador Flávio Macieira will have the task of listing the measures to be taken to resume the functioning of the buildings of the diplomatic representation in the country of the dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries have already been reactivated, but there is still no deadline for the reopening of the Brazilian embassy in Caracas and the consulates – one of which is in the Venezuelan city of Santa Elena do Uairén.
This forecast will be known after the evaluation of the ambassador, who will travel to the country as chargé d’affaires.
Brazil has three buildings in Caracas — the embassy, a consulate and the ambassador’s residence. The Lula government still does not have precise information about the current situation of these places, which were closed by former minister Ernesto Araújo, during the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
In addition, it is necessary to survey the situation of local employees, who were removed after the closure of services.
Macieira is considered an experienced diplomat by the Lula government. He was previously ambassador in Oslo, Norway, and served in the embassies of Baghdad, Paris and Bern.
There is still no decision on who will assume the post of ambassador to Venezuela now that bilateral relations have resumed.
The reopening of the embassy in Maduro’s country was a request by Lula to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira.
The PT government considers that not having a representation in a neighboring country that trades with Brazil is the negation of diplomacy. In addition, the closure of the embassy and consulates during the Bolsonaro administration ended the provision of services to Brazilians living in Venezuela.
Other embassies were closed by Bolsonaro, mainly in Africa and the Caribbean. The justification was cost reduction. Any reopening of these diplomatic representations will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the Lula government.
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