Peronist presidential candidate Alberto Fernández said that if elected he would join the left-wing leaders of Mexico and Uruguay in promoting dialogue with the Venezuelan government.
Speaking with television station Channel 13 on Tuesday, Fernández pushed back on efforts by President Mauricio Macri and other governments in the region to support Juan Guaidó and other opposition forces in removing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's from power.
“I don’t agree with all those proposals that part of Latin American rallied behind (US President) Trump on," Fernández said in the interview. "I greatly value the proposal made by (Mexican and Uruguayan Presidents) López Obrador y Tabaré Vázquez."
Since the recognition of Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's president by over fifty regional and international governments, the US government has issued crippling sanctions on Venezuelan industry and officials in a bid to remove the country's socialist president.
With his first true statement on his policy towards the region's largest humanitarian crisis, Fernández signaled Argentina's potential break with the Lima Group, a coalition of anti-Maduro regional government with the stated aim of resolving Venezuela's crisis.
"I believe that the problem in Venezuela has to be resolved," Fernández said. "I believe that the problem in Venezuela is not going to be resolved with marines, it won't be resolved supporting an invasion. The problem in Venezuela will be resolved favoring the betterment of institutional quality and democratic coexistence in Venezuela."
On Tuesday, both Trump and Maduro confirmed their respective governments had been holding high-level secret negotiations to resolve the crisis that excluded the opposition. Guaidó has yet to respond to the developments but is set to give remarks on Wednesday.
– TIMES / AP
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