Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro again escalated his political rhetoric ahead of Sunday's elections in the country, this time targeting his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei.
Speaking at a rally in the state of Nueva Esparta, Maduro called Milei a "Nazi and a fascist" and used him as an example of the unwanted direction the country could go on should he lose the elections.
"He got angry when I said so but it is the truth. That Milei is a Nazi and a fascist, he is putting workers through a chainsaw (a euphemism used by Milei to refer to steep austerity measures). He got angry when I said it but the truth is the truth," Maduro added.
He went on to ask attendees if they wanted "Venezuela to go in the same direction as Argentina" and for the country to become "the social disaster Argentina is under Milei."
It is far from the first time Maduro takes on Milei, perhaps his main regional foe at the moment. He had also uttered similar terms last week during an another rally, prompting the spokesman of Argentina's government, Manuel Adorni, to answer during a daily press conference.
"Maduro has become (or always been) a dictator. And the words of a dictator don't merit an analysis because they come from a person whose ethical and moral values are off. He is against what we stand and advocate for, which is democracy."
Argentina also answered in the legal scene, resuming a lawsuit against the Venezuelan government before the International Criminal Court. The suit, which had been initially filed in 2018 under the center-right Mauricio Macri administration, was dropped by his successor, Alberto Fernández, whose party historically had close ties with Venezuela's Chavismo. The suit requested the government be investigated for systematically violating human rights.
The latest flare-up comes as Maduro continues escalating his rhetoric as the elections get closer and polls show the opposition with a comfortable lead. Last week, Maduro warned society risks a "fratricidal civil war" and a "bloodbath" if his party doesn't win.
"If you don't want Venezuela to fall into a bloodbath, into a fratricidal civil war because of fascists, we need to guarantee the largest electoral victory in the history of our people," Maduro said during a speech in Caracas.
The statement prompted Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, historically reluctant to criticize Venezuela, to speak publicly. "It scared me," Lula said in an interview with foreign media. In a democracy, he said, "those who lose bathe in votes, not in blood." "Maduro needs to learn that when you win, you stay, and when you lose, you leave and get ready for the next elections."
Aware of the government's reluctance to relinquish power, opposition members have for months been demanding the government engage in negotiations aimed at an orderly transition should they be defeated, a scenario that polls are predicting.
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