Venezuela furious at Brazil’s Brics snub

Multiple foreign governments have said they believe the opposition won the election in Venezuela, but stopped short of recognising González as the president.

“The Brazilian foreign ministry has decided to maintain the veto that [former Brazilian president] Jair Bolsonaro has applied against Venezuela for years, reproducing the hatred, exclusion and intolerance promoted from the centres of power in the West,” the Venezuelan foreign ministry said in a statement.

“The Venezuelan people feel indignation and shame at this inexplicable and immoral aggression,” it added.

Venezuela had lobbied hard to join the Brics, with Maduro even making a surprise appearance at the summit in the city of Kazan and declaring that his country was “part of the Brics family”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hosted the summit, said he agreed with Venezuela’s position, but added that it would only be able to join the Brics if there was a consensus in favour among its members.

“We know Brazil’s position. We don’t agree, Venezuela is fighting for its survival,” Putin said at a news conference on Thursday.

He said he discussed the issue with Lula when they spoke on the phone this week. Lula was scheduled to travel to Russia for the summit, but cancelled the trip after injuring his head in an accident at home on Saturday.

Putin added that he would work to help the two South American neighbours mend relations.