Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray: Good afternoon to the Foreign Ministers and Heads of Delegation and to all who are attending this meeting of consultation.

The serious political, economic and social situation in  Venezuela is one of the greatest challenges faced by the American continent. The gradual deterioration can be seen in the rising levels of hunger and malnutrition, the lack of medical supplies and care, poverty, violence, unemployment and the ever-worsening political and social breakdown.

The purpose of today’s meeting of consultation is to enable us to conduct an objective, responsible and supportive dialogue on this urgent issue.

We welcome the presence of the region's many foreign ministers because this is indicative not only of the importance we give to this issue but also of the many areas of agreement we share within this great institution.

Above and beyond our shared geography, the members of the Organization of American States share values, obligations and basic principles; respect for sovereignty; the self-determination of peoples and the peaceful settlement of disputes; in addition to the defense and promotion of human rights and democracy. These values ​​imply access to and the exercise of power in accordance with the rule of law; the holding of periodic, free and fair elections based on secret balloting and universal suffrage; the pluralist system of political parties and organizations; and the separation of powers and independence of the branches of government.

This is the minimum that we share as an organization. For this reason, over the last few months, the Mexican government has followed the situation with great concern while working through diplomatic channels both individually and together with other countries in the region to encourage the Venezuelans to find a peaceful and institutional solution to the crisis.

Within our organization, Mexico has been one of the countries actively involved in promoting a political negotiation and building consensus based on respect, solidarity and, above all, fraternal friendship with the Venezuelan people.

Mexico is convinced that it is the Venezuelans themselves who must design a negotiated solution to this crisis, but we also believe that the international community, particularly the hemispheric community, has the responsibility to act so that the parties can pre-establish trust in order to be able to take steps towards a new process of negotiation and political agreement.

In addition to contributing new views and new proposals and giving timely follow-up to the commitments agreed on for the full restoration of democratic order, this is the spirit in which we have come together today. For this reason, this session at the OAS seeks above all to make a collective and objective evaluation of the current situation in Venezuela in order to identify the mechanisms through which we can bring all the parties involved closer together through the peaceful use of negotiation.

The acute polarization that we have seen over the last two months, coupled with the escalating violence that has led to an ever increasing number of deaths with hundreds more injured, compels us to act urgently.

We are concerned about the lack of guarantees for the exercise of the right to demonstrate and the high number of arbitrary detentions, including the growing number of Venezuelan citizens being tried in military courts.

This situation, which is contrary to Venezuela's Constitutional principles and to international instruments, has been denounced by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and even by the Venezuelan Attorney General, herself.

We are also concerned about the lack of food and medicines that is having a devastating effect on the quality of life of the Venezuelan people, especially the groups that are most at risk.

Mexico reiterates its willingness to help address this serious crisis if the Venezuelans so decide. We are further worried about the unjustified postponement of elections, the lack of information about the decisions of the National Assembly and the arbitrary actions taken against political actors, who are imprisoned, disqualified or denied the right to leave the country. Convening a national constituent assembly to draft a new constitution under the terms proposed by the government deepens the climate of mistrust and aggravates the political crisis.

Therefore, we believe that it is urgent to reach a political agreement that allows the Venezuelans to recover democratic normality and the exercise of fundamental rights.

Mr. President: Today, our region must address the difficult situation in Venezuela and undertake new diplomatic efforts to achieve the normalization of its democratic institutions in accordance with the Charter of the Organization of American States and the  Inter-American Democratic Charter.

Mexico, a steadfast defender of the principle of non-intervention, maintains that this principle should not be invoked to justify or hide changes to the democratic order in the hemisphere, and still less to evade responsibilities related to human rights or respect for the rule of law. Because, as I have already stated, our organization is not merely a geographic grouping; it is a community that shares values, principles and obligations.

To leave it, is equivalent therefore to turning one's back on this assemblage that we have built together over the course of nearly 70 years.

All nations face problems and challenges, and Mexico is no exception. Mexico faces the challenges of poverty, inequality and the huge consequences of the violence created by international drug trafficking and organized crime.

But faced with these large-scale challenges, our country has opened itself up to the world in order to confront and overcome them, in the understanding that international scrutiny is a powerful instrument of change.  That is why we believe that neither by denying its problems nor through isolation or excluding itself from the OAS will Venezuela find solutions to its current situation.

It should be made clear that [Mexico] will remain committed to the region and to Venezuela through diplomatic channels and with absolute respect for the sovereignty of the Venezuelan people. Our country will always be ready to contribute to the peaceful and democratic situation (sic) of conflicts in the region.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen: If this meeting of consultation of Foreign Ministers resolves to create bodies for agreements, humanitarian aid and reconciliation, Mexico expresses its willingness to actively participate to achieve these ends within a framework of respect, solidarity and fraternal friendship with the Venezuelan people. Thank you.