Opponent asks Brazil to recognize González as elected president of Venezuela

Last year, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received Maduro with honors in Brasilia, but tensions between the two governments escalated for weeks after the Venezuelan elections.

Lula asked for the publication of electoral records proving Maduro’s victory, which did not happen, and Brazil vetoed Venezuela’s entry into the Brics bloc.

But in November, Lula said in a TV interview that Maduro was Venezuela’s “problem” and not Brazil’s, a statement the Venezuelan president received positively.

Machado, who is in hiding, spoke during a session of the Foreign Relations committee of the Chamber of Deputies, in which González also participated.

The opposition leader said that Maduro “is isolated, nationally and internationally, weakened, without resources”.

“We will remain firm in this position to move forward with you towards this orderly transition and for Edmundo González to assume the Presidency”, he added.