One of Brazil's top diplomats is suggesting the country conducts new elections as a way out of the current crisis, as the government claims to have won but hasn't provided backing data and the opposition, which has, says its candidate won by an overwhelming margin.
Celso Amorim, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's top foreign policy aide, suggested the possibility in a cabinet meeting, according to local outlet Valor Económico. He said it's a preliminary idea that hasn't been shared with Colombia and Mexico, two other regional power brokers in the issue.
Amorim said the new elections should be preceded by the lifting of sanctions by the European Union on Venezuelan authorities and monitored by members of the bloc. It is worth mentioning that another group of international overseers from the Carter Center were present in the July elections and concluded that they were not "in accordance with international standards of integrity and can't be considered as democratic."
The three have been moving in a coordinated manner to increase their political weight and chances of influencing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. But as time continues to pass, some cracks are starting to emerge.
According to Mexican outlet El Universal, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) said he won't speak with his Brazilian and Colombian counterparts "for the moment" as he waits for a decision on the elections by the government-friendly electoral court. AMLO has been more inclined than his pairs to give credit to Venezuelan officials despite their bias toward the government.
But even if Brazil gets the support of Colombia and Mexico, the idea has already been rejected by the Venezuelan opposition. Top official María Corina Machado told El País that she won't accept such a possibility, describing it as a "red line" in any negotiations with the government.
"The elections' result is not negotiable, popular sovereignty is not negotiable. How could anyone think about holding a new election? We had one here, under the regime's term, with an unequal campaign. With their machines, their tally. We won under their rules, the world knows we won," she said.
As for the U.S., there are contradicting reports about whether the Biden administration has offered Maduro amnesty in exchange for ceding power.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that the U.S. has discussed pardons for Maduro and top lieutenants of his who face Justice Department indictments, quoting three people familiar with the Biden administration.
That report said the U.S. has put "everything on the table" to persuade Maduro to leave before his term ends in January, and that the U.S. would be open to providing guarantees not to pursue those regime figures for extradition.
However, The Miami Herald was quick to dispute those claims, reporting that while the U.S. is open to all possibilities to end Maduro's regime, it has not yet offered amnesty.
"We have not made any offers of amnesty to Maduro or others since the election," said a U.S. official told The Miami Herald, who spoke under condition of anonymity. "We are considering a range of options to incentivize and pressure Maduro to recognize the election results and will continue to do so."
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