“There is no Evidence”
Mexico City, July 31 (EFE).- By Enric Sitjà Rusiñol
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Wednesday that “there is no evidence” about the alleged electoral fraud in Venezuela that handed over the third consecutive term to Nicolás Maduro.
At a press briefing in the Mexican capital, Lopez Obrador questioned the Organization of American States (OAS) for its “interventionism” in the Venezuelan politics.
“Let’s wait. I believe that evidence has to be presented. I think that they should have minutes, even though they were carried out electronically, I believe that in the procedure there are minutes, there are records to know what happened,” the president said in response to an EFE question.
He rejected the Venezuelan opposition claims that their allegations were similar to the fraud accusation he made during the 2006 Mexican elections, when he lost to the right-wing Felipe Calderón by a difference of 0.56 percent of votes.
“There is no evidence in the case of Venezuela. We did have a lot of evidence,” said López Obrador, pointing out that “no foreign country” demanded “transparency” and accused the international correspondents of that time of being “in favor of fraud.”
The Venezuelan election body released its only tally on Sunday night, when it awarded victory to Maduro with 51.2 percent of votes, compared to 44.2 percent for the rival, Edmundo González Urrutia, supported by María Corina Machado, who was disqualified from running in the race.
“As he (Calderón) did not have legitimacy in the elections, (he) wanted to legitimize himself by declaring war on drug trafficking,” a situation that the country “is still suffering from.”
“So, imagine the damage of electoral fraud, which is caused by wanting to impose and not respecting the will of the people.”
However, López Obrador called on the Venezuelan poll body to “release all the results” and make the voting records public, urging the opposition to go to the relevant judicial authorities “if they are not satisfied” with the final verdict.
“But do not start confrontation and violence,” he said.
He noted that Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena will not participate in the meeting called by the OAS because she does not agree with the organization’s attitude regarding the Venezuelan elections.
“Why are we going to a meeting like this? “That is not serious, it is not responsible,” he emphasized, and called for an end to “interventionism.”
Even the Carter Center, which participated as an observer in the Venezuelan elections, said on Tuesday that the process “did not conform” to the international parameters and standards of electoral integrity, so “it cannot be considered democratic.” EFE
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