Alckmin says he does not know whether Lula made new contact with the interim president of Venezuela

The vice-president and minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (MDIC), Geraldo Alckmin, said this Thursday that he has no information about new contact between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez.

The Brazilian president spoke with the interim president of the neighboring country on Saturday (3). It was the only contact the Brazilian president had with her since the US attack on Venezuela. According to the BroadcastGrupo Estado’s real-time news system, Lula spoke with Delcy early on Saturday morning to confirm the news about the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro. He wanted to know if Caracas had been attacked.

“In relation to Venezuela, Brazil’s position expressed by President Lula was quite clear. Brazil is a country of peace, a country of dialogue and, therefore, it is clear that it does not approve of interventions by one country in another”, Alckmin told journalists at an agenda in Brasília this afternoon. “On the other side, Brazil did not recognize the result of Venezuela’s electoral process. So, Brazil does not agree with actions that break with international law and, on the other side, it did not accept the result, it did not recognize the electoral result of Venezuela’s last election. And it hopes that Venezuela grows, recovers its economy and can grow.”

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The vice-president also briefly commented on the trade relationship between Brazil and the United States, stating that it had taken “an important leap”.

Asked whether the good contact that Lula achieved with US President Donald Trump could help in tariff negotiations – at a time when the US government is involved with Venezuelan affairs -, Alckmin replied that these are different things. “One issue is Venezuela, the other is the commercial relationship between Brazil and the United States, the two largest economies in the Americas, and which has 201 years of partnership with more than 3 thousand American companies in Brazil, and Brazil is not the United States’ problem, Brazil is the solution, the United States’ problem is a trade balance deficit.

Move Brazil Program

Alckmin visited the Nasa Caminhões e Ônibus dealership, in Águas Claras, administrative region of the Federal District, accompanied by the president and CEO of Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus, Roberto Cortes. The agenda aimed to monitor the service of the first customers interested in the Move Brasil program, aimed at the sustainable renewal of the Brazilian truck fleet, reducing emissions and increasing the efficiency of transporters.