Biden, Lula call Venezuelan election a ‘critical moment’ for democracy

July 30 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Sunday's Venezuelan election is a "critical moment for democracy" and pledged to closely coordinate a response.

Biden and Lula discussed the Venezuelan election and other matters by phone on Tuesday, and agreed that Venezuelan election officials need to release voting data.

Civil unrest has erupted in Venezuela as socialist President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of an election whose outcome many say was determined by fraud .

A spokesperson for the National Security Council affirmed the need for more election data from Venezuela.

"We continue to call for Venezuela's electoral authorities to release full, transparent and detailed voting results, including by polling station," National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in an online statement Tuesday.

Watson said there are "clear signs that the election results announced by Venezuela's National Electoral Council do not reflect the will of the Venezuelan people."

Watson said the NSC is reviewing other electoral information provided by international election monitors.

During their talk, Biden and Lula also agreed officials in the United States and Brazil should continue working together to accelerate the transition to clean energy and promoting the Partnership for Workers' Rights .

In 2023, Biden and Lula jointly announced the creation of the PWR to empower workers.

Some of the PWR's key priorities include ending forced labor, countering workplace discrimination, addressing workplace heat stress and supporting work related to climate change and investment standards.