Lula welcomes back banned leader Maduro, both hit out at US sanctions against Venezuela

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has visited Brazil for the first time since he was prohibited from entering in 2019 by former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.Maduro was warmly welcomed by the new president, fellow leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, ahead of a Latin American leaders' conference in Brasilia.

"What's important about Maduro coming here is that it's the beginning of Maduro's return," Lula said, as reported by the BBC.

A number of nations have questionedMaduro's legitimacy, labelling him a dictator.

Lula stated in a greeting to his visitor in the Brazilian capital on Monday (May 29) that his own comeback had arrived five months earlier, referring to the period when he reclaimed power after defeating Bolsonaro in close presidential elections.

Maduro stated that Venezuela is open to Brazilian investment and that the two nations "must be united, from now on and always."

Maduro last visited Brazil in 2015. Jair Bolsonaro was primarily opposed to Venezuela's socialist president and was unlikely to accept an invitation.

However, Lula previously had cordial relations with both Nicolás Maduro and his political mentor, the late Hugo Chávez.

Lula slammed the United States' "extremely exaggerated" sanctions against Venezuela, saying it was illogical that the US would "impose 900 sanctions because they don't get on."

He urgedhis South American ally to develop a new "narrative" about authoritarianism, claiming that an unfair and "constructed" one had been formed around Venezuela's status of democracy.

What does the visit mean for Maduro?

Maduro used his visit to reiterate his appeal for the US sanctions to be repealed, saying he would rally South American states to reject them as a regional bloc.

Several South American countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, and Colombia, as well as Brazil, are presently headed by left-wing politicians and may offer their support to such a viewpoint, reported The BBC.

However, it is questionable if such a demand would have any actual impact on the Biden administration's actions towards Venezuela.

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Maduro nowincreasingly authoritarian?

Maduro has been more dictatorial since his election in 2013.

His attack on opposition activists eventually led to the US putting sanctions on his administration and recognised opposition leader Juan Guaidó as short-term president in 2019 following a contentious election.

Last December, Venezuela's opposition National Assembly decided to dissolve its parallel government and depose Guaidó.

Many Western countries, including the United States, acknowledged him, but he failed to depose the left-wing president.

The vote demonstrated how many opposition lawmakers in Venezuela had lost trust in Guaidó.

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