U.S., Brazil demand Venezuela release election records

President Joe Biden and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Tuesday both called Venezuela’s recent disputed election a critical moment for democracy in South America. The White House published a statement about the two leaders’ conversation in which they pledged to communicate openly about the issue. They called on Venezuela’s electoral authorities to publish full, transparent, and detailed data from the level of individual polling stations.

What’s going on with Venezuela’s election? On Monday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro claimed victory in Venezuela’s presidential election, saying he would continue serving as the country’s leader until 2031. He has been in power since 2013. Protests erupted across the country, and the White House on Tuesday noted signs that the results may not have reflected the will of the Venezuelan people or how they voted at the ballot box. Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Maduro on his victory.

Is Maduro showing signs of cooperating with the international community? Maduro late on Tuesday condemned the protests, which he said were an attempt at destabilizing the country, according to a translated post on social media. The U.S. Embassy in Venezuela on Tuesday expressed concern about reports that authorities arrested and detained members of Venezuela’s political opposition. Last summer, the U.S. State Department condemned efforts by Venezuela’s government to keep an opposition leader out of the electoral process. It also raised worries that the reorganization of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council would be unfair.

Dig deeper: Read Carlos Páez’s report in WORLD Tour from before Venezuela’s election, asking if the opposition’s efforts to unseat Maduro would succeed.