Angered by its rejection for BRICS membership, Venezuela pulls its ambassador from Brazil

Venezuela has pulled its ambassador from Brazil in a spat over Caracas’s failed recent bid to join the BRICS alliance of major developing nations.

Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro

Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry announced the diplomatic punch on Wednesday, slamming Brazil’s officials for “blocking” its BRICS membership and making “interventionist, rude statements”.

The ministry also summoned Brazil’s business envoy for talks, reported Reuters.

The move heightens tensions between the neighboring South American states, which have soured since Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared himself re-elected in July despite major irregularities in the tabulation of votes.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a close socialist ally of Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez, has not recognised Maduro as the legitimate winner of the July 28 vote, calling on Venezuelan electoral authorities to first publish official tallies.

Brazil’s move to scupper Venezuela’s longtime BRICS ambitions at the group’s recent summit in Kazan, Russia added fuel to the fire.

“The Venezuelan people feel indignation and shame at this inexplicable and immoral aggression,” said Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry after the vote.

In addition to the BRICS snub, Maduro was apparently angered by a comment da Silva reportedly made Monday to Spanish visitors in which he called Maduro “a crazy, ignorant fraud.”

BRICS is currently comprised of original member nations Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa along with newcomers Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates, which all joined the bloc in January 2024.

In its latest statement, Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry lashed out at Brazil’s top foreign policy adviser, Celso Amorim, who said Brazil had vetoed the BRICS application because Caracas “breached the trust” of its partners.

Amorim, Venezuela’s ministry said, was “acting more like a messenger for North American imperialism” and was “impertinently dedicated to issuing value judgments on processes that only correspond to Venezuelans and their democratic institutions.”

Electoral officials aligned with Maduro declared him the winner of the election, but did not release detailed results to back up the claim.

The opposition, meanwhile, claimed that its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won by a landslide, publishing detailed polling station results.

Several Latin American countries and the United States have recognised Gonzalez, who was charged with incitement to sedition, as the victor.

Gonzalez has fled the country and sought political asylum in Spain.

Venezuela’s security forces waged a fierce crackdown on demonstrators who took to the streets after the election, killing at least 23 people, according to a Human Rights Watch report.

A Venezuelan opposition leader was found dead last week after being taken into state custody, according to his political party.
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Credit: Al Jazeera