The Politicization of Venezuela by the European Parliament: the case of Edmundo González

Since the Lisbon Treaty, the European Parliament has had a more prominent role in the foreign affairs of the European Union. The case of Venezuela is a clear example, where the EP has acted as a moral tribune. However, the recognition of Edmundo González as the legitimate president of Venezuela in 2024-2025 divided the EP politically, leading to a center-right-far-right alternative majority to pass the resolution of its recognition, followed by a second resolution where the recognition was frozen, passed by the center right and the pro-EU groups a few months later. Deriving from interviews with the resolution negotiators from the EPP and the S&D, this article aims to answer the question of how politicization shaped the EP’s positioning on the case of Edmundo González. This discussion will draw insights from the literature analyzing the EP as a moral tribune and a promoter of democracy, as well as literature that has studied the politicization of the EP in the recent European Elections of 2024. The article concludes that a divide between the European supporting MEPs and the Eurosceptics was the main driver for the split in the voting on the case of González. Another aspect was the nationality of the MEPs, with Spanish MEPs being more sensitive to the issue due to the national political salience of Venezuela, thus clashing with European politics and national partisan interests.