Canadian government is wrong to interfere in Venezuela's election process | Op-Ed
Written by: Canadian Latin America Alliance
When Luis Arce and his MAS party swept to victory in Bolivia’s general election this past October, it took Canada several days to recognize the results.
Canada’s Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne didn’t even wait until counting ended to tweet out that his government would not accept the results of Venezuela’s legislative elections on Dec. 6.
For almost two years now, Canada has been at the vanguard of moves to oust Venezuela’s government. Ottawa has been in lock-step with the Trump White House as well as with other government’s like that of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil in trying to have Juan Guaido - previously a junior politician who was elected as the alternate legislator for his district in 2015 - recognized as Venezuela’s president, while also working with them to have the country’s foreign assets seized and given to Guaido’s ‘administration’.
When meetings of the so-called Lima Group could no longer take place in Peru due to the upheaval that has already felled two presidents in as many years and left the country’s leadership in question, Canada stepped in as convener and host. The Trudeau government has not seemed to recognize that the semi-formal bloc which came together with the express purpose of supporting the overthrow of Venezuela’s government, is almost entirely comprised of governments with their own democratic deficit and no longer counts on the support of key regional actors such as the government’s of Mexico and Argentina.
Canada’s government has also been unconditionally in its support for the head of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, whose almost singular focus on and highly biased perspective towards Venezuela are well documented. A number of regional leaders including Argentina’s president Alberto Fernandez are now calling on Almagro to resign from his post, given the OAS’ role in precipitating the violent coup in Bolivia last year - a coup which was condoned by Ottawa, citing a now thoroughly debunked report by Almagro’s observer team.
The Trudeau government’s stubborn posture on Venezuela continues to be nothing short of a disaster for Canada’s reputation, but more importantly, for the lives of Venezuelan people. There is little doubt that Venezuela faces serious challenges, and could benefit from the solidarity and diplomacy to help bridge divides in that country. These past legislative elections could have been seized as an opportunity towards that end, but instead, Canada has chosen to side with a faction of the opposition in rejecting the vote, threatening those who put themselves forward as candidates and calling on Venezuelans to boycott.
By attempting to select a government in another nation, Ottawa has taken itself out of contention to play a constructive role, and it is now only contributing to the further hardships faced by Venezuelans through support for sanctions that have cost the lives of tens of thousands of Venezuelan people, even before this pandemic.
The Canadian government must stop playing an antagonistic role on the world stage and pursue a foreign policy based on cooperation between sovereign countries. As regards Venezuela, Ottawa must recognize the actual Venezuelan government and end any form of hostilities, including sanctions and participation in the Lima Group.
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