Following Brazil’s veto of Venezuela’s accession to BRICS, Caracas has recalled its ambassador to Brasília, stating that Celso Amorim, the Brazilian president’s special adviser, “behaved more like an emissary of U.S. imperialism.”
In a statement on Wednesday, the Venezuelan foreign ministry criticized Brazilian authorities for “obstructing” BRICS membership and making “intrusive, rude statements.”
“The Venezuelan people are outraged and ashamed by this inexplicable and immoral aggression,” the ministry said, following the BRICS summit.
In its latest statement, the ministry specifically targeted Brazil’s top foreign policy adviser, Celso Amorim, who stated that Brazil had vetoed Venezuela’s BRICS bid because Caracas had “violated the trust” of its partners.
The Venezuelan foreign ministry said Amorim was “behaving more like an ambassador of North American imperialism” and was “dedicated to making arrogant value judgments about processes that only concern Venezuelans and their democratic institutions.”
The ministry also summoned Brazil’s economic envoy to the talks, Reuters reported.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, speaking two days earlier, referred to his country’s rejection at the BRICS summit, claiming Brazil’s open veto contradicted personal assurances from the Brazilian foreign minister that Venezuela would not be blocked from joining the bloc.
“They said it once, twice, three, four times, many times. Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told me to my face that Brazil would not veto Venezuela. There were meetings with the Brazilian foreign minister, the Russian foreign minister, our foreign minister, and our vice-president, and Brazil was the only country in the region to state clearly and directly that it would not veto Venezuela,” he said.
“But when the time came to announce new BRICS members, Brazilian diplomat Eduardo Paes Saboia reportedly vetoed Venezuela’s entry,” Maduro said.
“This happened at the last minute, almost at the end of the summit,” the president remarked.
Maduro called the veto a “stab in the back” and accused Paes, whom he described as a “fascist” and a supporter of Brazil’s former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, of orchestrating the move.
Maduro also criticized Brazil’s foreign ministry, popularly known as Itamaraty, after the building that houses it.
“When I say that Itamaraty is a power within a power in Brazil, this is not news to anyone,” Maduro said, adding that the Brazilian Foreign Ministry has “historically” maintained close ties to the U.S. State Department.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, along with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, has been attempting to mediate in Venezuela’s post-election dispute, which the Venezuelan opposition claims was rigged.
Lula has pushed for the publication of detailed election results, which were not released. While he has stopped short of refusing a deal with the Venezuelan government, he has repeatedly warned of consequences for bilateral relations between the two countries.
On Monday, Maduro said he would give Lula time to respond. The Brazilian president, who is not attending the BRICS summit, has not yet commented on the reported veto.
