(CNN Spanish) – The president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Jorge Rodríguez, proposed this Wednesday that the legislative body urge the Government of President Nicolás Maduro to break diplomatic relations with Spain, after the Congress of Deputies of the European country approved to recognize the opponent Edmundo González Urrutia as elected president.
In a speech widely applauded by the Chavista caucus, Rodríguez, one of the men closest to Maduro, ordered the Parliament’s Foreign Policy Commission to bring a resolution to the plenary “for peremptory approval.”
“Let all the representatives of the delegation of the Government of Spain leave here,” exclaimed Rodríguez.
The deputy’s call occurred hours after the Congress of Deputies of Spain endorsed – in a divided vote – a proposal from the Popular Party to recognize González Urrutia as elected president of Venezuela after the controversial elections of July 28 and urge the Executive of Pedro Sánchez to do the same.
The decision is not binding and this Wednesday, during a trip to China, Sánchez said that his Government will not change its position and, together with other countries, will seek to mediate in the post-election conflict in Venezuela.
Spain is one of the nations that have called for the Venezuelan authorities to publish the minutes of the past presidential elections, arguing that this measure would give transparency and certainty to the results.
Both the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela (TSJ) have declared Maduro the winner, although a month and a half before the elections, the minutes broken down by voting station have not been published. Both institutions are made up of people considered close to Maduro.
Since the night of July 28, the opposition Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) rejects the official results and affirms that the true winner is González Urrutia. On Sunday, the former ambassador arrived in Spain from Venezuela after receiving political asylum in the European country. González Urrutia says that in Venezuela he was the target of pressure and political persecution.
