Argentina wants to re-establish diplomatic relations with Venezuela
The President of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, appeared at a press conference with the Ecuadorian President, Guillermo Lasso, on an official visit to the Casa Rosada. In his statement, he took the opportunity to declare that Argentina "wishes to recover its diplomatic ties with Venezuela".
"We believe it is time to help Venezuela, through dialogue, to fully recover its normal functioning as a country and as a society. We are not going to achieve this if we leave it alone, without ambassadors and without our attention," said the Argentine president.
This public communication is a rapprochement with the Venezuelan nation, in which last March the Argentine president announced that he would appoint an ambassador to Caracas. He also addressed other countries in the region: "I call on all the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to rethink this, and I made the same proposal to President Lasso".
Relations between Ecuador and Argentina are an important factor in business, which is why the Ecuadorian president affirmed that he views Alberto Fernández's proposal "with good eyes", but wanted to clarify that his government "is not yet ready to make a decision".
Tensions between Argentina and Venezuela have been evident in recent years. In 2017, under Mauricio Macri, Argentina recognised opposition figure Juan Guaidó as head of the Venezuelan state in his bid to end the crisis in Venezuela.
Later, with the coming to power of the centre-left Fernández, Argentina has come out on the side of the UN, supporting reports by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, which reflected abuses in Venezuela.
"Bachelet intervened, she worked with the Venezuelan government. Many of these problems have been dissipating over time. We are seeing how, on the basis of the agreements reached by the Contact Group (European Union and Latin American countries), Venezuela has been making progress in its electoral process", said Alberto Fernández in his appearance.
This panorama reflects a contradictory situation between the two Latin American nations; Fernández's government has positioned itself in favour of Maduro in the OAS, while voting to veto his participation in the UN. This situation is a reflection of the pressures on the Argentinean president in his approach to Venezuela.
Alberto Fernández's speech advocates the need to achieve "full" unity within the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). For Lasso, CELAC "can serve as a platform to rebuild the unity of Latin America and the Caribbean" just before the next Summit of the Americas in the United States.
"President (Lasso) agreed that together we can launch this call for the fraternity of Latin America and the Caribbean, in the context of CELAC. I am very happy that the president accompanies me in this initial proposal," said the Argentinean president in his communication.
Argentina's rapprochement with Venezuela coincides with a relaxation of relations between Washington and Caracas, due to the Americans' interest in maintaining the supply of crude oil after the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
This appearance took place within the framework of Lasso's first official visit to Argentina, the third by a Latin American leader in April after the visit to Buenos Aires of the Bolivian president, Luis Arce, and the Chilean president, Gabriel Boric.
Americas Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra.