Lula is criticized after asking for “common sense” in Guyana, threatened with invasion by Venezuela

The statement by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) asking for “common sense” from Venezuela and Guyana to resolve the dispute between the two countries over the Essequibo region did not have a good repercussion. Diplomatic tension between the two countries has gained strength in recent weeks after the Venezuelan National Assembly held, this Sunday (3), a non-binding referendum on the territorial dispute. The consultation is considered illegal by Guyana and raises concerns about the possibility of war in South America.

“You can’t keep thinking about fighting. I hope that common sense prevails, on the side of Venezuela and on the side of Guyana”, Lula told journalists at the end of COP 28.

The country led by dictator Nicolás Maduro intends to appropriate 74% of Guyanese territory. Guyana, which is located in the far north of South America, said the announcement is provocative and that any decision will have no international legal effect.

“This talk by Lula of asking for common sense on both sides in Venezuela’s decision (30 million inhabitants and 123 thousand soldiers) to annex 70% of Guyana’s territory (800 thousand inhabitants and 3 thousand soldiers) is like seeing a big guy wanting beat a child on the street and ask the child for common sense!”, declared deputy Osmar Terra (MDB-RS).

For lawyer and former state deputy of São Paulo, Janaína Paschoal (PT), Lula’s action is “intriguing”. “I find it intriguing that President Lula asks for common sense from Guyana, which is the victim of history! He should use his friendship with the dictator to dissuade him from his expansionist rage! Asking for common sense from the victim means exculpating the aggressor!”, he wrote on the network X.

Gazeta do Povo columnist Guilherme Macalossi also questioned Lula’s “common sense” request directed at Guyana. “Guyana’s common sense? But what did Guyana do? The expansionist drive comes from its Bolivarian friend, whom it received with honors in Brasília. Yet another false symmetry is being created,” he said.

One of the main profiles dedicated to covering international conflicts, the “Today in the Military World” , also criticized the PT president’s statement and even compared the request for “common sense” to “the same thing as asking for common sense from a rapist and the woman who is about to be raped”. “It simply doesn’t make sense! The one who has to have common sense is Nicolás Maduro, who must respect international law and wait for the conclusion of the analysis by the International Court of Justice, as determined on 12/01”, he wrote.