BRAZIL –  Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has urged Venezuela’s government to respect the result of next Sunday’s election, saying he had been “frightened” by Nicolás Maduro’s warnings of a “bloodbath” if he loses the vote.

After 11 years in power, Venezuela’s authoritarian leader is currently trailing in opinion polls to the opposition candidate, the retired diplomat Edmundo González, and in recent weeks, Maduro and his allies have stepped up their predictions of post-election violence following what they say will be a victory for the ruling party.

On Monday, Lula repeated calls for Maduro to honour his commitments to hold fair elections. “I have told Maduro that the only chance for Venezuela to return to normality is to have a widely respected electoral process,” he said. “He has to respect the democratic process.” Maduro was narrowly elected in 2013, after the death of his mentor Hugo Chávez; his 2018 re-election was widely dismissed as a sham. At a rally on Wednesday, he said the fate of Venezuela depended on his re-election this Sunday for what would be a third term in office.

“If you don’t want Venezuela to fall into a bloodbath, into a fratricidal civil war, due to the fascists, let’s ensure the greatest success, the greatest victory in the electoral history of our people,” he said. Lula, who for many years has refused to openly criticize the Venezuelan leader, said he had been “frightened” by Maduro’s words, adding: “When you lose, you go home and get ready to run in another election.”

He announced that he will send one of his top advisers, former foreign minister Celso Amorim, as an observer to monitor Sunday’s election, along with two members of the Brazilian electoral court. In May, the Venezuelan government revoked the invitation for the European Union to send observers – something to which it had previously committed – adding to concerns over the fairness of the elections. (The Guardian)