The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, defended yesterday in the Congress the policy of the Spanish Government towards Venezuela because “the reality is what it is and not what we would like it to be”.
“The policy that is limited exclusively to reiterating declarations of principles has little impact on modifying reality, and with respect to Venezuela, as with any other country, the indeclinable defense of principles, to be truly effective, must be exercised with realism”, said González Laya before the Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee.
“The reality is what it is and not what we would like it to be”, added the minister during her appearance, in which she was questioned by the PP on the recent meetings of ministers and high representatives of the Government with the Vice-President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, and on her presence at the Ibero-American Summit in Andorra.
Likewise, González Laya affirmed that the main objectives of Spain in Venezuela are the defense of the interests of the Spanish community, made up of 150,000 people (including the “Spanish political prisoners”) and of the companies installed in the country, in addition to the almost 400,000 Venezuelans residing in Spain, and to contribute in a “constructive” way to a “negotiated solution that allows overcoming the serious crisis that Venezuela is going through and guarantees its return to democracy”.
To achieve this objective, she continued, “it is necessary to talk with all the actors involved and to have dialogue with those actors who have the capacity to produce changes”. “The only sustainable way out in time is a negotiated solution with the support of the international community that allows the democratic reinstitutionalization of Venezuela through the holding of fair, free and transparent elections”, she said.
For her part, the head of International Affairs and spokesperson of the PP in the Foreign Affairs Committee, Valentina Martínez Ferro, reproached González Laya for the “surprise” visit made at the end of March by the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Latin America and the Caribbean, Cristina Gallach, to Caracas, in which she met with Delcy Rodríguez, despite the fact that “she is sanctioned by the EU” and warned her that, “if what concerns her are the 150,000 Spaniards living there, why are they visited by surprise?”. In this regard, González Laya assured that she had no objection to explain in another appearance before the Commission the details of Gallach’s visit.
In statements to Europa Press agency, Martínez Ferro condemned this past Wednesday that the invitation to Delcy Rodríguez to participate in the Ibero-American Summit was maintained, in which she replaced President Nicolás Maduro almost at the last minute, when she is “sanctioned by the EU and cannot set foot in the EU”. The leader of PP, Pablo Casado, had recently demanded the withdrawal of the invitation to Maduro or whoever intervened on his behalf. Foreign Ministry sources clarified in this regard that the invitations correspond to the host country, in this case Andorra.
As expected, the presence of Rodriguez at the Summit ended up overshadowing other issues on the agenda, related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was harshly criticized by many of the attendees, especially by the president of Ecuador, who described as unacceptable that “the delegate of a government that does not respect political principles or the human rights of the people it claims to represent” was allowed to intervene.
The presence of Maduro, or Rodriguez in his place, was also criticized by opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, currently in exile in Spain. “It is unusual that Nicolás Maduro, head of a regime that has impoverished the country to extremes of precariousness that were unimaginable two decades ago, and that will continue to do so as long as he remains in power, is the one who ‘represents’ Venezuela before the XXVII Ibero-American Summit”, she declared through his Twitter account.
