The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, landed in Brasilia this Sunday night (28) after being invited by the Brazilian government to the summit of South American presidents taking place this Tuesday (30).
This is the first visit by a Venezuelan president to Brazil since 2015. At the time, Maduro was in the country to attend the inauguration of then-president Dilma Rousseff (Workers' Party) who had been elected for her second term.
Relations between Brazil and Venezuela deteriorated after Rousseff's ousting. During the de facto government of Michel Temer (Brazilian Democratic Movement Party), Brazil recognized the self-proclaimed Juan Guaidó as president of Venezuela following the 2018 presidential elections. In the same year, Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal Party) was elected in Brazil and relations between the two countries were practically broken after the far-right ruler took power in 2019.
In January, after taking office, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers' Party) appointed diplomat Flávio Macieira as Brazil's chargé d'affaires in Venezuela to reopen the embassy in the country. Caracas, on the other hand, appointed Manuel Vadell as ambassador to Brazil.
Schedule in Brasilia
This Monday (29), Maduro should carry out a bilateral agenda with Lula. Private and expanded meetings are planned between the two representatives, in addition to the signing of agreements and a luncheon at the Itamaraty Palace.
In a note, the Brazilian chancellery stated that "the two leaders should examine priority themes for deepening dialogue in all areas of the relationship."
"In this sense, the presidents will deal with the results of the recent multidisciplinary mission to the Venezuelan capital, organized by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and which had representatives from more than twenty Brazilian government agencies", said the Itamaraty.
On the last 17th, an ABC delegation visited Caracas and met with technical representatives of the Venezuelan government to review the already existing agreements between both countries.
According to diplomatic sources heard by Brasil de Fato, Lula and Maduro are expected to sign an agreement this Monday (29) involving the areas discussed by the ABC mission.
This Tuesday (30), Maduro is expected to participate in a meeting with all South American presidents in a summit called by Lula.
Edited by: Thales Schmidt e Flávia Chacon
