For Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), the January 10 reelection of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was valid, regardless of Lima Group nations, the European Union and even the National Assembly of Venezuela calling it illegitimate.
“We are going to respect the constitutional principles of non-intervention and self-determination of communities in the matter of foreign policy,” said López Obrador, who will continue relations with Maduro while other Lima Group signatories intend to cut diplomatic ties with Venezuela altogether.
The Lima Group originated in 2017 in the Peruvian capital as a multilateral agreement among Latin American countries to address the economic, political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. While Mexico is a member, it has become an outlier more intent on promoting human rights and welcoming Venezuelan refugees rather than meddling with politics.
Many Venezuelans living in Mexico weren’t surprised that López Obrador declined to uphold the Lima Declaration in addressing the deteriorating political situation in Venezuela.
”It really doesn’t bother me that Mexico hasn’t signed the agreement but it doesn’t make me happy either because I know that it’s not going to change anything,” said Edime De Jesús Ruis Vivas, a 21-year-old from Valencia in the Carabobo state of Venezuela who has called Guadalajara home for the past seven months.
Upon leaving last year due to the instability, Ruis Vivas fled to Bogata, Colombia before reuniting with his brother who has lived in Jalisco for 18 years. Since then, he has been working at an Asian restaurant in the city while hoping for improvements in his country.
“AMLO didn’t sign the agreement because he has little awareness of what’s going on and doesn’t realize that there is no functional government in Venezuela but literally a dictatorship,” said Ruis Vivas.
Francisco D’Angelo, director of the Association of Venezuelans based in Mexico City, wasn’t pleased about López Obrador’s refusal to condemn Maduro.
“It is clear that the positions of the (regional) governments do not reflect the true feelings of the people,” he said, noting a disconnect between Mexican politicians and citizens. “The Latino and Mexican people are totally in disagreement with the Maduro dictatorship.”
Other Venezuelans believe there are alternative motives behind López Obrador’s hands-off approach in dealing with Maduro.
“I was very surprised, as well at the fact that AMLO invited Maduro to his inauguration,” said Rodolfo Jesús Urbano Gómez, a former editor for The Daily Times newspaper in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela who now resides in Guadalajara. “It seems to me that there are economic interests involved.”
Urbano Gómez is one of many who think that direct foreign mediation – or intervention – will be necessary for effective economic and political reforms to take place in Venezuela.
“The Maduro government has never respected the decision of the Venezuelan people because they have the military on their side and will ignore the decisions of the National Assembly as they have always done,” said Urbano Gómez. ”It is one of the worst dictatorships that Latin America has ever seen. The only way to get Maduro out of power is a military uprising or military intervention by the United States to make way for a transitional government and allow for presidential elections again.”
Aligned with Mexico’s non-intervention foreign policy, the Mexican government has even requested Lima Group constituents not to interfere with Venezuelan matters for the sake of sustaining a dialogue with the oil-rich nation.
“Mexico considers the most effective route to reach this group’s objectives is through mediation and dialogue, not isolation,” said Maximiliano Reyes, Mexico’s subsecretary for Foreign Relations in Latin America and the Caribbean, at a Lima Group chancellor meeting in Lima, Peru on January 4.
Lima Group members wanting to prevent Maduro from continuing his tenure include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Guyana and Saint Lucia.Some countries such as Peru even plan to restrict Venezuelan government officials from entering the country.
This international bloc aligns itself with the current sentiment among members of Venezuela’s National Assembly (Congress) who will not recognize Maduro’s second term as lawful.
“As of January 10, we are faced with the rupture of constitutional order,” said Juan Guaidó, head of the National Assembly. “The presidency is not vacant, it is being usurped.”
More citizens continue to leave Venezuela as inflation worsens and jobs are almost impossible to come by. The International Organization for Migration based out of Switzerland reports that more than three million Venezuelans have emigrated and the numbers only continue to rise. Despite sanctions from the United States and the European Union, Venezuela’s leadership has done little to alleviate the insecurity.