Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva assured this Monday in Mexico that it is necessary to “renew the conversation” with Venezuela so that it “returns to democratic normality” after the political crisis that erupted after the presidential elections in July.

“I am very interested in seeing Venezuela return to democratic normality, it is a country with which I have good relations, it is a country that shares a 1,600-kilometer border with Brazil (…) In other words, we need to find a way to restart the democratic conversation,” Lula said in a statement to reporters in Mexico City.

Lula is in the Mexican capital to attend the inauguration of President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday, October 1, who will become the first female president in the history of the North American country.

“That’s why I’ve been worried about Venezuela for a long time, not just now. Because the more peace there is in Venezuela, the more peace there will be in South America, because we want to make South America a zone of peace, we don’t want war,” he added.

The Brazilian president is expected to meet with outgoing Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at the National Palace this afternoon, and in the evening he will join other official guests at a dinner hosted by Sheinbaum.

Lula insisted on the possibility of continuing joint mediation efforts between Brazil, Colombia and Mexico to facilitate dialogue between Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition after the July elections, the official results of which led to the president’s re-election.