The regional and municipal elections scheduled for November 21 will have the particularity of gathering more than a dozen openly gay and lesbian candidates who aspire to gain spaces in the public powers to promote recognition and respect for human rights.
This year, several organizations from all the political spectrum nominated candidates of the LGBTI+ community, especially for positions of regional councilors or legislators.
At least five openly gay candidates will run for office on November 21 in the states of Lara, Miranda, Sucre, and the Capital District on behalf of the Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (Democratic Unity Roundtable, MUD for its acronym in Spanish).
There are also candidates from the LGBTI+ community in the ruling Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (United Socialist Party of Venezuela, PSUV for its acronym in Spanish) and in the so-called Democratic Alliance, made up of organizations that self-identify as progressives, evangelical movements, and the political parties under the intervention of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ).
In a conversation with Venezuelan news site monitoreamos.com, the candidates coincided on the importance of political participation to promote the creation of ordinances and agencies and the organization of activities in favor of equality and non-discrimination.
Lenin Starlyn | Miranda (Democratic Unity Roundtable)
At 23 years of age, Lenin Starlyn Castellano is running for councilor on the Democratic Unity Roundtable list in the Plaza municipality of Miranda state. The young student of Political Science at Universidad Central de Venezuela is the president of the non-governmental organization Nunca Dejes de Soñar (Never stop dreaming) and a member of the LGBTI advisory team in Amnesty International Venezuela.
“We live in times of greater visibility that starts from the youth. There is a diverse young generation within the political parties that understands that it must raise its voice, learn new skills, and be openly visible in its organizations to make itself noticed,” Starlyn considers.
Although he recognizes that the structures of the political parties are usually conservative or sexist, he affirms that their role from inside is “to dismantle those myths, the macho culture, so that our example can have a cascade effect.”
In this sense, he assures that “the political parties have understood that we are speaking of a human rights issue and that we cannot legislate and design public policies that leave a sector of society on the sidelines.”
The young man highlights the importance of having openly LGBTI candidates in these elections. “The community needs to have young role models in national politics. The community deserves to be able to send the message that it is possible to become a councilor or mayor while being an openly gay, lesbian, or trans person,” he reflects.
Should he win a seat on November 21, he hopes to promote municipal agreements, anti-discrimination ordinances, and advance LGBTI public policy in the state. “We want to become a true example of support for the city of Guarenas and serve the most vulnerable population, give advice, and promote the regional agenda of the Miranda state,” he explains.
His goal for the next elections is to have at least one openly LGBTI candidate in each of the municipal legislative chambers of the state.
Nayleen López | Sucre (Democratic Unity Roundtable)
22 years old Nayleen López has just begun to take her first steps in politics in the eastern Venezuelan city of Cumaná, where she works as the secretary of youth in the political party Acción Democrática, “a party in which I have been active since I was very young given that my mother is a long time member and I was born belonging to this organization”, she jokes.
López is running for councilor in the Sucre municipality of the state of Sucre on behalf of the Democratic Unity Roundtable and, although she values the nomination of openly LGBTI leaders this year, she emphasizes that the community has always been part of political activism.
“We have not been so visible but we have always been here. Today, we are in the front row of the electoral contest and that is an important breakthrough, “she says.
López highlights the importance of the existence of these candidacies after years of segregation. “The existence of the LGBTI community cannot be denied. They have tried to hide it for a long time, to cover it up and repress us; they tried to erase us from the map, but all this is irrational,” she laments.
For this reason, López considers that her campaign is very important because it allows “people like us to see that they can achieve everything they want as politicians or professionals, and that our sexual orientation should not be an impediment”.
In case of winning a seat, she hopes to promote the declaration of Sucre as an inclusive and non-discriminatory state, for which she has already advanced conversations with the politicians running for governor and mayor on behalf of the Democratic Unity Roundtable, Robert Alcalá and Juan Rodriguez.
“Regardless of whether I am elected or not, I will be able to say that I am both an LGBTI activist and a politician that has run for office in Venezuela, and that is something that fills me with pride,” she says.
Kerson Carvalho | Lara (Democratic Unity Roundtable)
Kerson Carvalho, 27, is a law student at Fermín Toro University and a candidate for councilor on behalf of the Democratic Unity Roundtable in the Iribarren municipality of the western Venezuelan state of Lara.
As the secretary of diversity at Acción Democrática, Carvalho has promoted the political participation of the members of the LGBTI community since he considers that “we can achieve our so fought for rights from the field of politics and the spaces of power.”
In his opinion, the nomination of openly LGBTI candidates in these elections does not respond to the compliance with quotas but the recognition of his leadership skills.
Many leaders of the LGBTI community are quite prepared to take on any challenge, including running for office (…) We are not running just to fill a spot on a list or a party card; we are running because we are prepared to take on this great job that is coming to us in Venezuelan society, such as the inclusion of the LGTBI community, ” López says.
Would he win the elections, López hopes to promote the creation of safe spaces free of discrimination where people can be themselves, in addition to promoting laws or regulations against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, together with his running partner, Sobella Mejías.
Iván Nieto | Miranda (Democratic Unity Roundtable)
A political scientist from Universidad Central de Venezuela and teacher in political science at Simón Bolívar University, Iván Nieto, is running as a candidate for councilor on behalf of the Democratic Unity Roundtable in Chacao municipality, where he is a coordinator of the Voluntad Popular party.
“I am not a candidate because I am part of the LGBT community; I am a candidate because I have shown through my work, effort, dedication, and actions as a resident of Chacao municipality that I have the merits to be considered as such,” Nieto affirms.
The 30-year-old politician highlights that although several openly gay candidates are taking part in the upcoming elections, there are still many political leaders who must go into hiding for fear of reprisals.
“The mindset of exclusion in society believes that no member of the LGBT community should be active in politics, and therefore many politicians cannot openly manifest their gender identity or sexuality,” he laments.
For this reason, Nieto considers that initiatives like his are important because they show that “regardless of your sex, creed, race, or religion, regardless of sexuality or gender identity, we can become politically active and aspire to elected positions.”
If he wins the election, Nieto would seek to expand the current ordinance against discrimination in Chacao, ensure functional sanctions for anyone discriminating against others, and effective inclusion mechanisms for all people, not only for LGBTI people but also for people with some type of disability.”
He also believes that politicians should “lead by example”, which is why he will promote activities to celebrate the struggles of the LGBTI movement, such as the Day against homophobia or the Pride Month.
“From our spaces, we need to raise awareness about the need to have all rights for all people, under equality and without discrimination,” he says.
Betty Carolina Peña | Mérida (United Socialist Party of Venezuela)
Peña is a 47 years old actress, poet, teacher, and mother of two. She is the founder of Movimiento Sexo Diverso (Sexual Diversity Movement) in the state of Mérida and a candidate of the Gran Polo Patriótico (The Great Patriotic Pole, the ruling electoral coalition) for the state’s Legislative Council.
She believes that the nomination of openly LGBTI politicians “is the result of the coordination that has been developing at the bases of the social movements of sexual diversity.”
In her opinion, the nominations of LGBTI politicians “give hope to the community that we will soon be able to further advance in terms of national and state legislation, and also gives them the strength and will to participate in the struggle by playing an active role in the realization of our rights”.
Even though there is no law on same-sex marriage or trans identity in Venezuela at the present, Peña believes that during the so-called revolution advances have been made in favor of the community. However, she admits that “there are obstacles, severe and powerful obstacles, that remain hidden within the institutions”, which do not allow progress at the desired pace.
“The conservative culture and the generational gap among political leaders are just two of the obstacles. One of the biggest ones is the active presence of churches and religions in politics”, she explains.
In case of winning a seat on November 21, Peña hopes to promote the creation of the institute of sexual diversity alongside the state government to provide protection to people from the LGBTI community and serve as a link with the Ombudsman’s Office and the Public Ministry for reporting cases of discrimination or hate crimes.
Luis David Guerrero | Táchira (Democratic Alliance)
Guerrero is 25 years old and holds a degree in Administration from the Universidad Católica del Táchira. He currently works as an administrative coordinator at the Autonomous Institute for Communal Power of the State of Táchira.
Guerrero is the founder of a non-governmental organization in the field of sexual diversity and coordinator at the Primero Venezuela party; and although he is now running for councilor in the San Cristóbal municipality by the Democratic Alliance, he admits that his nomination “was questioned by two Christian parties in the alliance that rejected my work as an activist of the LGBTI community, but in the end, we reached a consensus and I was awarded the nomination.”
Guerrero considers that these nominations are important because they allow taking the struggle of the LGBTI community to the different spheres of power.
“The LGBTI community in Venezuela must be more visible. We have been invisible for decades and society has cornered us to a certain stereotype, that gay people can only be hairdressers, makeup artists, or models. And we have seen that many young people have broken that paradigm in different areas of public life, and politics is one of those, the paradigm that a politician cannot be gay. It is a way of telling society that being gay does not make you less of a person, less political, less professional, or less intelligent, ” he says.
Would he win, one of his proposals will be an ordinance to declare San Cristóbal a city free of homophobia and establish a system of sanctions for businesses and public places that discriminate against LGBTI people.
Guerrero also hopes to promote the creation of a department in the mayor’s office to deal with complaints of discrimination, and the implementation of a training program in city schools to eradicate bullying.
Martín López Ríos | Aragua (Democratic Alliance)
From the age of 14, Martín López Ríos ventured into politics in the state of Aragua in central Venezuela. 20 years later, López earned a degree in Laws from Universidad de Carabobo and is now running for councilor in Maracay, on behalf of the Cambiemos party under the Democratic Alliance.
Despite the existence of several openly LGBTI politicians running for office, López believes that “the LGBTI community still faces stigma in the country that makes it difficult for many political activists in the closet to advance in the materialization of their aspirations,” he laments.
Faced with this, he argues that LGBTI activists must “continue putting up a fight against the prevailing macho culture in political parties.”
In case of winning a seat in the regional and municipal elections, López hopes to promote ordinances to protect the human rights of the LGBTI community and prevent all types of discrimination.
“It would be interesting to create a political agenda that revolves around the issue of the rights of the sexually diverse community in support of our progressive agenda. Everything related to the rights of the community is contained in it, such as adoption by homoparental families and same-sex marriage ”, he affirms.
Also, López is committed to documenting, reporting, and disseminating cases of hate crimes and violations of the fundamental rights of LGBTI people.
Translated by José Rafael Medina
