Brazil, Colombia urge new Venezuela vote, as opposition cries foul
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00:00He's known for his close relations with his Venezuelan counterparts, but Colombia's President
00:05Gustavo Petro has echoed calls to start afresh in Venezuela, suggesting new free elections
00:11as part of solutions to end the country's intensifying political crisis.
00:15Venezuela's electoral authority declared Maduro the presidential election winner last month,
00:21despite the opposition party's published vote tallies showing a victory.
00:26The United Nations has since raised the alarm over a wave of repression in the country after
00:30a deadly crackdown on protest contesting the results, leaving scores killed, dozens injured
00:36and over 1,000 people arrested.
00:39Venezuela's other neighbour Brazil is also in agreement for a new vote.
00:44If Maduro were sensible, he would try to appeal to the people of Venezuela, perhaps even organise
00:49new elections, establish criteria for all candidates to participate, create a multi-party
00:54election committee in which everyone participates, and let observers from around the world watch
00:59the elections.
01:02Maduro, though, has rejected these international weigh-ins, saying Venezuela didn't involve
01:07itself when Brazil and the US also had contested elections.
01:13Venezuela has sovereignty.
01:14It is an independent country with a constitution and institutions, and the conflicts that exist
01:18in Venezuela are resolved between Venezuelans, with their institutions, with their law, with
01:23their constitution.
01:25I do not practise microphone diplomacy.
01:29Since coming into power in 2013, Maduro's rule has overseen an economic collapse that
01:33saw an 80% drop in the country's GDP.
01:37And over 7 million Venezuelans have fled the country, according to the UN.