The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, warned this Thursday before the Organization of American States (OAS) that there are more and more anti-democratic leaders in the region and called for putting aside ideologies to defend democracy. democracy.
“Every time we see more leaders who undertake anti-democratic measures under the false justification that they have popular support,” he criticized during the LII General Assembly of the OAS, held in Lima, in which he did not directly quote any of them.
The leader of US diplomacy gave as an example the approval of legislation that extends the mandates of presidents or that allows the harassment of judges.
Given this, Blinken affirmed that the United States will work with its partners, both governments and civil society organizations, to denounce these abuses.
“I want to be very clear: it is not about choosing sides between left and right or progressive and conservative, it is about committing ourselves to democracy ahead of ideologies and parties,” he claimed.
The US foreign minister also asked the countries of the region to “unequivocally condemn the authoritarian regimes in the region”, among which he cited Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela.
He assured that the government of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua violates the democratic charter of the OAS by “arbitrarily arresting the opposition, repressing protests and committing flagrant electoral fraud.”
He also attacked Cuba for “the hundreds of people arrested” for the protests in July last year who are still in prison”…