Lula: Venezuela "does not lack democracy"

November 18, 2007

In statements to the press on November 14, the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, defended the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, and minimized the incident between him and the, during the 17th  in Chile.

According to, Lula said after meeting with the president of the Guiné-Bissau: "There is little difference in opinion between King Juan Carlos and Chavez. There are many other differences between heads of State. Divergence is part of a democratic meeting."

The Brazilian President stressed that "Venezuela is a democratic country" and compared it with the United Kingdom: "You can criticize Chavez for anything but lack of democracy in Venezuela. In Venezuela, there were three referendums, three elections, four ... Why did nobody lament when Margaret Thatcher remained in power for so many years? It's continuity, there is nothing different. Only the system is slightly different, the system of presidential regime to . But what matters is not the system, but the exercise of power."