Bolivia, Uruguay and Mexico Reject Statement on Venezuela

The statement, made by the Lima Group, calls President  Nicolas Maduro not to take office on January 10

Bolivia and Uruguay have rejected interventionist declarations made by the Lima Group against the democratically elected government of President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.

Bolivian President Evo Morales posted on Twitter on Saturday: “Democracy is based upon peace, dialogue and self-determination of peoples.

“We praise the democratic government of Mexico for defending the principle of non-interventionism and declining to back the diplomatic conspiracy led by the United States through the ‘Lima Group’ against Venezuela.

“We regret resurgence of the ideology of racist supremacy (KKK), as a replica of xenophobia of the government of the United States.

“In the face of intolerance and discrimination, Indigenous peoples promote respect and integration.”

Uruguay’s Foreign Affairs Ministry also rejected the Lima Group’s position.  President Tabare Vazquez said he would advocate for a “peaceful solution” based on “dialogue.”

On Friday, the Mexican government, led by Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO), refused to sign the joint declaration by the Lima Group, opting to maintain good diplomatic relations with Venezuela.

“Mexico firmly promotes dialogue with all involved parties to find peace and reconciliation, for which we reiterate our rejection of any initiative that includes measures that obstruct a dialogue to face the crisis in Venezuela,” an official statement issued by Mexico’s foreign ministry reads.

The Venezuelan government, through a statement of his Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza, warned against interventionism. Arreaza said he regrets that the members of the Lima Group “agreed to foster a coup in Venezuela” by “not recognizing the democratically elected government” after “receiving instructions from the U.S. government through a video conference.”