Some 500 luminaries from 27 Latin American and European countries were signatories to a letter of support for the initiative to promote a negotiated solution and dialogue for peace in Venezuela. The document will be sent to Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO), both of whom will attend the inaugural meeting of the ‘International Contact Group on Venezuela’ in Montevideo, Uruguay, on Feb. 7.
The letter was reportedly also signed by Dilma Rousseff, former president of Brazil; Estela de Carlotto, president of Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo; Angela Maria Robledo, former candidate for the vice presidency of Colombia; Leonardo Boff, theologian from Brazil; Dimitrios Papadimoulis, vice president of the European parliament; Adriana Salvatierra, president of the Chamber of the Senate of Bolivia; Joao Pedro Stedile, leader of Brazil’s Landless Movement; Gleisi Hoffmann, president of the Brazilian Workers’ Party; Arantxa Izurdiaga Osinaga, member of the parliament of Navarre; Bill Bowring, president of the European Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights; Daniel Caggiani, president of the Mercosur parliament; and parliamentarians Camila Vallejo from Chile and Irene Montero of Spain.
“We are concerned that peace, stability, cooperation and integration in our region are under threat, as a result of external harassment and interference in Venezuelan political life,” the letter states, adding that “while some actors are betting on the war and intervention, other governments are pushing with much effort the call for dialogue and negotiation as legitimate ways of international law to solve conflicts.”
Ministers from Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay, Germany, Spain, France, Holland, Italy, Portugal, United Kingdom and Sweden will participate in the meeting, which will be co-chaired by President Vazquez and Federica Mogherini, the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
Most of the participants of the summit, whose rank is ministerial, will arrive and leave Uruguay during Thursday, which will speed up the organization of the event and security protocols. Vazquez and Mogherini will offer a 30-minute press conference after the meeting has ended.
“From our spaces and roles we accompany and adhere to the initiatives of dialogue and political negotiations aimed at peace in the region and the world, and we support the holding of the next summit on Venezuela to be held in Montevideo,” the letter concludes.
Mexico, Uruguay and CARICOM countries, who have taken a non-interventionist approach, established the “Montevideo Mechanism”: a four phase process to settle Venezuela’s crisis through diplomatic channels and negotiations. For this purpose skilled negotiators have been selected.
