Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum will send a representative to Friday’s inauguration of President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, despite the lingering concerns over the legitimacy of last July’s election.
Maduro is set to begin a third six-year term on January 10, even though his government has repeatedly failed to present the electoral returns demonstrating his victory. Sheinbaum’s decision to have a representative at the ceremony appears to mark a reversal of her earlier stance. Following her electoral triumph in June of last year, she emphasized the “importance” of ensuring transparency in Venezuela’s election results to leave “no room for confusion.”
Maduro declared victory with 52 percent of the vote, but opposition candidate Edmundo González presented data from 84 percent of polling stations indicating a landslide in his favor. Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, widely viewed as being under Maduro’s influence, refused to release detailed results, intensifying suspicions of electoral manipulation.
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