Colombian and Venezuelan Leaders Criticize the Rise of the Far Right in European Parliament Elections
The presidents of Colombia and Venezuela, Gustavo Petro and Nicolás Maduro respectively, questioned the surge of the far right in the European Parliament elections that took place this Sunday.
For Petro, this represents a setback, as he expressed on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
“The far right wins in Europe. The century of lights is fading: this is what I call the global 1933; the wealth distributed by the welfare state has anesthetized the European people and, as in the past, they react against the exodus they themselves have caused with their wars of conquest, calling on the Nazis. They react against the poor to defend wealth and power.”
Although the victory belongs to the center-right, the far right emerged victorious in France, Germany, Austria, and Italy, for example. In Spain, the VOX party improved its results.
In France, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally doubled the numbers of President Emmanuel Macron’s candidates, prompting him to immediately call for parliamentary elections after dissolving the National Assembly (Parliament).
In Belgium, the results led to the resignation of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, after losing to the Flemish nationalist party N-VA and the far-right Vlaams Belang.
Maduro’s Response to European Elections
From Caracas, Maduro stated that “neofascist parties” had won in Europe.
“They may win over there, but they will not pass here,” said the leader during an event of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) held on Sunday, June 9.
In Germany, the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) emerged as the second force and improved its results compared to 2019. They will increase from 11 to 15 MEPs in the next four years.
For Petro, these numbers reveal that Europe “has not realized the rise of fascism to power. The beacon of democracy is now in Latin America.”
Following the preliminary results, the European People’s Party will have 191 seats and will be the leading force, but will need to seek partners such as those from the left and the Greens to legislate.
In countries where the left was the majority in these elections, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark stand out. Also in Portugal, where they obtained a slight majority.
Additionally, in Spain, the People’s Party secured 22 seats compared to the 20 of the PSOE, with a victory margin of four points. The far-right will have six MEPs from VOX and three more from Se acabó la fiesta, a radical right-wing formation.
