2 August 2017
Recently, over the past two decades, two National
Constituent Assemblies have been held in Venezuela. Both have taken place in a context
of high tensions and controversies among Venezuelans. The first in 1999 was not
exempt from opposing positions and resistance to change, where obviously
economic interests underlie and especially due to the fundamental nature and
characteristics of the constitutional acts.
Regarding the impression that the convocation of a National
Constituent Assembly on the part of the government of Nicolás Maduro would have
been an considered an arbitrary act, unlawful and unconstitutional, it should
be noted that under the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in
the provisions that specify the institutions which have the competency and powers
to convene an event of this political nature, which may call for a reform, a
plebiscite or a National Constituent Assembly, include the President of the
Republic together with his ministers. Definitely, at this time the president of
the Republic exercised a constitutional power provided for in the constitutional
norm.
Likewise, to make it seem that the National Electoral
Council CNE operated in collusion with the current government in the context of
the National Constituent Assembly is totally absurd, because like all electoral
bodies in a "state of law" the functions of the CNE are stipulated in
the law. This would be like thinking and
accepting that in Chile the SERVEL Electoral Service would take a position of
rebellion in order to satisfy a sector of society and enter into actions as an
institution of disrespect and contempt for the law, situations which are also
addressed in the legal system of a State.
In short, the National Electoral Council fulfilled its institutional function and organized the elections, including informing all citizens and receiving, in due time, the names of the candidates who exercised their right to compete and without political discrimination or of any kind. However, in the case of the Indigenous Peoples, a procedural distinction was recognized and exercised due to the fact that the Indigenous Peoples enjoy a special juridical status and that will be discussed next.
In short, the National Electoral Council fulfilled its institutional function and organized the elections, including informing all citizens and receiving, in due time, the names of the candidates who exercised their right to compete and without political discrimination or of any kind. However, in the case of the Indigenous Peoples, a procedural distinction was recognized and exercised due to the fact that the Indigenous Peoples enjoy a special juridical status and that will be discussed next.
The Venezuelan voting system, "is the best in the
world," said former United States President Jimmy Carter in 2012 after many
verifications and in addition, in order “to see to believe”, this situation I could
confirm personally, taking into account my participation in other electoral
processes such as when I served as an observer of the Peace Agreements for the
United Nations Mission in Guatemala MINUGUA.
To give credibility and transparency in the elections the
Bolivarian government has instituted the highest technology, establishing a
biometric system that, based on my experience "in situ", I could elaborate in four consecutive steps and
explain this situation because it not only constitutes a novelty for my own
experience as an international observer, but because this system does not exist
in other countries.
The first step is the presentation of a national identity
card previously established in a registry with the electoral commission and if
it coincides and is good, the next step to check the information on the card with
the technological systems of record. All the data provided by whoever is voting
must match, and then if the system matches the name, the fingerprint and a
photograph then the same person must recognize and verify his or her identity.
Then the individual completes the third step and goes to cast his vote secretly and once the voter has cast his vote, the voting machine gives him a printed vote that the voter must confirm his preference and then deposit his vote in a ballot box and finally before leaving the voting station, the voter must sign a book as proof that he or she issued their vote independently, free of outside interference. These four passages also highlight a familiarization with the biometric system.
Then the individual completes the third step and goes to cast his vote secretly and once the voter has cast his vote, the voting machine gives him a printed vote that the voter must confirm his preference and then deposit his vote in a ballot box and finally before leaving the voting station, the voter must sign a book as proof that he or she issued their vote independently, free of outside interference. These four passages also highlight a familiarization with the biometric system.
In the eight electoral stations where I was assigned in
order to verify the election processes, I verified that the performance of each
person was not subject to coercion or threats in the independent exercise of the
issuance of their vote. I followed
several people who were in the voting ranks until the manifestation of their vote
and I did not observe the interference of another person.
During the week that I stayed in Caracas, I was able to
appreciate that the tensions and controversies that are experienced in
Venezuela have their origin largely in the institutional changes that have been
established since the arrival of the late President Hugo Chavez, which produced
not only a counterbalance in power relations, but, historically excluded
sectors of the Venezuelan people were successful in moving into positions of
administration of the Venezuelan State.
For example, the Supreme Court of Justice is composed preferably by
people of humble extraction, that is, their fulfillment of duty to justice in
the Court is determined more by their merits and competencies and not their
social extraction as commonly happens with the power structures in Latin
America and the Caribbean.
The international media in Venezuela have displayed in a
very clear and effective way the true nature of the fourth power, and the
national media have mostly done nothing more than to accommodate and reproduce the
messages and images of the international media industry. By way of example, Air
Fance and Avianca suspended their flights to Caracas, however other airlines
continued to operate with total normality. However, the normality was not news,
and instead the story of Air France and Avianca contributed to create unnecessary
uncertainties.
If you were to make a comparison, Venezuela is today's North
Africa, because of the fact that it has the world's largest energy reserve of
petroleum, and the business boycott has similar characteristics with the
situation in Chile from ‘70 to ‘73.
It is extremely important to bear in mind that the
realization of the National Constituent Assembly in Venezuela is an act of
self-determination of the Peoples of Venezuela and is not subject to the
approval of another State. Although other international entities have the right
to express their opinion, the Right of Self-determination is a Principle of
International Law which is fully consistent with the Charter of the United
Nations, and based on these fundamental principles governing the multilateral
relations of States, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has called
for international respect for the results of the National Constituent Assembly
in Venezuela.
The right to protest in Venezuela is guaranteed as in any state
where the "rule of law" is recognized, and this is the context for all
the manifestations that have been realized before and during the development of
the election of the national constituent assembly. That there are prisoners, there definitely
are, and for this reason I personally invited the wife of Leopoldo López to
visit the Mapuche political prisoners in Chile, although there is a great
difference in the character of the rights that have been violated against the
Mapuche People, from the military coercive acts called "Pacification of the
Araucanía" until today.
On the other hand, the election of a number of eight
constituents to the national assembly from different Indigenous Peoples of
Venezuela constitutes an event of high political significance, being that as is
stipulated in the Bolivarian Political Constitution of Venezuela, the rights as
Indigenous Peoples ranging from tangible and intangible rights to land, territories,
resources, intellectual property, biodiversity and development, culture,
language and others are recognized.
Two facts distinguish this new political situation. First,
the procedure respects the Indigenous Peoples right of self-determination fully
consistent with international law regarding indigenous self-determination as established
in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. However,
the Indigenous Peoples of Abya Yala [America and the Caribbean], presently are only
conceded the right to consultation regarding development projects that impact
their peoples and territories.
Now, in the case of the National Constituent Assembly of Venezuela, the enormous difference is made evident between consultation and the right to self-determination, and it should be to take into account that every such consultation carried out in the different countries from Mexico to the south must be to be questioned for the bad faith under which they are manipulated and manufactured, and Chile is the best example.
Now, in the case of the National Constituent Assembly of Venezuela, the enormous difference is made evident between consultation and the right to self-determination, and it should be to take into account that every such consultation carried out in the different countries from Mexico to the south must be to be questioned for the bad faith under which they are manipulated and manufactured, and Chile is the best example.
Secondly, the eight Indigenous Constituents of the National
Assembly of Venezuela have as mandate the mission to protect their collective rights
which have been achieved with the struggle of all Indigenous Peoples and to move
forward to advance these rights, indicating that they are creating their own
destiny with the intent of achieving harmony with the rest of society.
By: Aucan Huilcaman
Caracas, August 2, 2017
Crónica Digital
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Translation:
Links:
Cacique Guaicaipuro:
héroe venezolano de los pueblos indígenas
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Mapuche Nation calls for International Meeting to Revoke the Doctrine of Discovery
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