Grupo de Lima VS Venezuela: will the sanctions work?

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Economic blockades, diplomatic and the non-recognition of the new government of Maduro, are some of the sanctions that have been imposed but, will they work?

Last week an unprecedented decision took place in Latin America. The Lima Group, composed of 14 countries from across the region, decided to issue a verdict not to endorse or recognize the upcoming government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Leer en español: Grupo de Lima VS Venezuela: ¿Servirán las sanciones?

Through a declaration, it is highlighted that among the main reasons "is that the electoral process carried out in Venezuela on May 20, 2018 lacks legitimacy because it did not have the participation of all the Venezuelan political actors, nor with the presence of independent international observers".

They also insisted "Nicolás Maduro not to assume the presidency on January 10, 2019, since he respects the powers of the National Assembly and transfers him, provisionally, the executive power until new democratic presidential elections are held."

In addition to the above, 13 of the 14 countries that agreed with the document, said they would not allow the entry of members of the Venezuelan government to their respective countries. At a press conference, Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo stated that "The governments that accompanied the declaration agreed to make a constant assessment of the state or level of diplomatic relations with Venezuela [and] prevent high officials of the Venezuelan regime from entering the territory of the countries of the Group of Lima ".

However, despite reprisals and warnings, Nicolás Maduro did not back down and stated in his Twitter account that there are countries that support him. Not only in the political sphere, but also in the economic one. This is according to one of the points in the agreement of the Lima Group, which sanctions any company that does business with that country.

Faced with this, Maduro reiterated that he is already developing relations with different countries: "Venezuela has several international fronts, in terms of investments with China, Turkey, France, the United States", the latter being the one that assures "all the member countries legal, legal and institutional security to favor their oil development as a whole ".

In addition to the above, countries such as Russia, Bolivia, Cuba, Mexico, Uruguay, among others, expressed their support to the Venezuelan government. Uruguay decided not to adopt the policies of the Lima Group, stating that dialogue was the best way. On the other hand, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that faced with the decisions taken by the Lima Group, he would respect the constitution of his country and not intervene in matters of foreign policy. Now, that does not mean that the AMLO government fully supports the Maduro regime

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Will sanctions serve?

Those countries belonging to the Lima Group, created in 2017, aim to give a peaceful solution to the Venezuelan crisis. Therefore, since the creation of this instance, the focus on Venezuela has always been maintained. Now, the decisions that this takes against the situation of Venezuela does not mean that they are a decisive ultimatum for Venezuela.

According to the internationalist Gabriel Guerra and in dialogue with W Radio Mexico, the sanctions imposed by the Lima Group do not work or have a strong relevance. For Guerra, in these cases, the sanctions work if a type of dialogue, exchange or a previous approach had previously been established.

Another important aspect is the influence of two of the members of the group: Brazil and Colombia. On the one hand, the first country is governed by Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right president who on more than one occasion has proclaimed himself with his desire to end socialism, not only in his country but in neighboring countries.

On the other is Colombia, headed by Iván Duque and who asked before the meeting on January 4 that the "countries that defend democracy do not recognize the new administration of Venezuela," as Semana stresses. Although these two countries promote sanctions and stop relations with Venezuela, we will have to see how much effect and authority these punishments have on the country.

LatinAmerican Post | Laura Viviana Guevara Muñoz

Translated from "Grupo de Lima VS Venezuela ¿servirán las sanciones?"