Venezuela and Nicaragua are silent on the electoral results in Colombia, because so far no president has said a word. In the case of the neighboring country, both Gustavo Petro and Rodolfo Hernández assure in their government plans that they will restore relations with Caracas.
(Also read: Rodolfo called Fajardo and Fico Gutiérrez: ‘We are going to receive the support’)
On Nicaragua and the maritime dispute with the Hague sentence, the proposals are also similar. The path is negotiation, or at least that is what both candidates have stated.
Petro has insisted that reestablishing relations with Venezuela is a necessity. In his proposal he says that he will seek to “converge and create a peaceful coexistence, harmonic, cooperative respectful of life, to make borders territories of diversity and prosperity” .
The governor of the state of Táchira, in Venezuelan territory, Freddy Bernal, has also requested that binational trade be definitively restored for the well-being of both countries.
Hernández, the great surprise of the day, considers that if he arrives at the Casa de Nariño that same day he will restore relations with Caracas and has criticized the handling of this issue by the Iván Duque administration.
Recovering the fishing rights of the Raizal community of San Andrés, who always had them, today requires a bilateral agreement with Nicaragua.
What a pity with some governments that not only let them take the land from the peasants but also took the sea from Colombia. https://t.co/aNKxvoEnU3
– Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) April 21, 2022
“The consequences of this condition are disastrous relations: they are deteriorated with countries like Cuba and Russiabroken with Venezuela and even cold with the United States ”, reads his proposal.
In this sense, both candidates would approach the administration of Nicolás Maduro, although neither has said that they would sit down with the president. From Venezuela, the little that has been aired is that it is expected to resume relations.
(Read also: Petro and Rodolfo: where will the matches go for the second round?)
About Nicaragua
Regarding Nicaragua, Petro is betting on a bilateral agreement with Nicaragua to, according to him, “recover the fishing rights of the community of San Andrés”. But he has been critical of his government, saying that it is not authentic socialism, the same with Maduro.
Hernández also believes that an agreement should be reached with the Central American country because The Hague’s decision is “negative” for the fishermen, so the job opportunities of the residents should be facilitated.
On two such complex and controversial issues, both candidates have similarities and a resolution of the diplomatic conflict with Caracas could be expected, or at least the restoration of relations to a minimum. In the case of Managua, it is expected to at least start a dialogue.
About the United States
In his international policy agenda, candidate Gustavo Petro proposes strengthening “cooperation ties with other nations,” especially with the United States, the European Union, and the Pacific Rim countries. Similarly, he proposes a boost to foreign trade.
However, it proposes the revision of the Free Trade Agreements in order to make them “fairer” agreements.
“The FTAs must be reviewed and renegotiated so that they are fair and become tools to stimulate productivity, combat climate change, develop knowledge transfers and create new jobs.
work,” says his government plan.
On the side of Rodolfo Hernández, the candidate assures that after the appearance of friction with the United States government “he will work on not putting political ideology into relations.”
“This ends as an interference in the internal affairs of a country, especially when a government is elected in the middle of an electoral process,” his plan says.
In terms of foreign trade, the politician mentions that “we must always take care of natural partners”, for which he proposes to increase the productivity of Colombian industry so that “it is competitive within the framework of the current Free Trade Agreements”, although it does not directly mention the United States or other countries with which Colombia has FTAs.
ANA RODRIGUEZ BRAZON
WEATHER CORRESPONDENT
CARACAS
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