Convocation of a Constituent Assembly in Venezuela

The Brazilian Government deeply regrets the decision of the Venezuelan Government to reject the claims of the international community for the cancellation of the convocation of a constituent assembly in the terms stipulated by the executive branch. The initiative of the government of Nicolas Maduro violates the right to universal suffrage, disrespects the principle of the sovereignty of the people and confirms the rupture of the constitutional order in Venezuela.

Venezuela has a legitimately elected National Assembly. The new Constituent Assembly would, once inaugurated, form a parallel constitutional order that is not recognized by the population, further aggravating the institutional impasse that paralyses Venezuela.

The Brazilian Government expresses its grave concern about the escalation of violence in the face of the worsening of the crisis, aggravated by the advance of the government over the democratic institutional bodies that are still in force in the country and by the absence of political horizons for the conflict.

The Brazilian Government condemns the curtailment of the constitutional right to free expression and repudiates the violent repression by the state forces and by paramilitary groups, such as the one that took place today.

In view of the seriousness of the historical moment in Venezuela, Brazil urges the Venezuelan authorities to suspend the installation of the constituent assembly and to open an effective channel of dialogue and understanding with the Venezuelan society, in order to pave the way for a peaceful political transition and to restore the democratic order, the independence of powers and the respect for human rights.