Building peace in Venezuela is a complex process. It implies, among other things, speaking a common narrative and promoting spaces of understanding to advance in the transformation of the conflict. It is also necessary to have a roadmap, encourage the participation of civil society, support and promote a process of negotiation and dialogue, as well as understand that peace is built with small actions every day.
These topics were discussed by Mariateresa Garrido, professor at the United Nations University for Peace (UPeace), and Daniel Cooper Bermúdez, director of Hearts on Venezuela, in a Twitter Space moderated by Cristina Ciordia, Network and Activism Coordinator at Cepaz. The space, called “Opportunities for dialogue and peacebuilding in Venezuela”, was part of the campaign Entendamos la paz (Let’s understand peace), a joint initiative of the Justice and Peace Center (Cepaz) and UPeace.
Dialogue and civil society
At the beginning of the conversation, Cristina Ciordia affirmed that a negotiation process in the country can only have real options to create a more peaceful society if it has solid foundations. These must be shaped by a common narrative, dialogue and the perspective of peacebuilding.
In this sense, Mariateresa Garrido indicated that in a context as complex as that of Venezuela, with such a polarized society, it is difficult to consider the possibility of initiating dialogue from civil society. It is often believed, as part of the existing narrative on peace issues, “that it is the State, the politicians and the people in positions of power who can initiate these dialogues.”
The truth is that practice shows that civil society and non-governmental organizations can positively influence peace and dialogue processes. “They are the ones who know the reality of the community, the reality of the country, what really affects each one of the people,” Garrido asserted.
This requires including people who feel powerless and believe their voice doesn’t matter. These groups, which are called grassroots, or minority groups, feel marginalized and are the most vulnerable in society, but at the same time, they have the best ability to identify real problems. For this reason, they can engage in less polarized dialogues, which can be disassociated from both national and international politics toward the solution of common problems. “And that precisely helps in the construction of dialogue for slightly more complex topics,” added the UPeace professor.
How to counter polarization
According to the director of Hearts on Venezuela, Daniel Cooper Bermúdez, building peace is important in a context like Venezuela, which has so many and so many different structural conflicts. These conflicts are “obstacles to creating a favorable environment for peace, the exercise of human rights and democracy.”
In Ciordia’s opinion, one of the biggest obstacles Venezuelans face in the construction of peace is that the messages they receive from their leaders, especially political leaders, “are built from the exclusion and denial of the other. Civil society can counteract this polarization by making efforts toward common narratives and turning to international organizations, such as the United Nations, for support to advance in these dialogue and negotiation processes.
In this regard, Garrido pointed out that the messages of exclusion and denial of the other are what international actors, unfortunately, get to see. The narrative that reaches international bodies is the one reflected in the media, which for the most part are messages only about the conflict and not about the possible solutions.
The role of the United Nations
According to professor Garrido, one of the ways to involve the international community in the Venezuela situation is to create spaces for dialogue, which counteract this prevailing narrative of polarization. This can be done by participating in high-level political forums, such as the sessions of the United Nations General Assembly. We must bring the issue of Venezuela to these forums and put ideas on the table that can help change the narratives about the situation in the country.
However, Garrido warned that one must keep in mind that the United Nations is an extremely complex organization. There are so many bodies, agencies and offices, doing different things. This makes it imperative to have clarity about the issues that you want to work on and help visibilize, and where we would like to see a further involvement of the United Nations.
Transforming the conflict
For Bermúdez, even before thinking about the role of the United Nations, it is essential to define a roadmap toward building peace in Venezuela. It is also necessary to articulate this roadmap with other actors of civil society because having the lead of one single organization in representation of the whole civil society is not enough. There has to be a collective effort, and we must work on how we want to build peace, under a vision of the systematic transformation of the conflict.
This transformation must include respect for the physical integrity of all people and the understanding that individual and collective rights cannot be violated. This is the only way to work towards the constructive transformation of conflicts, including in organizations such as the United Nations. Indeed, the United Nations has already been involved in the situation of Venezuela, “through the Human Rights Council and the Fact-Finding Mission, which has done a very important job to ensure human rights in the country,” Bermudez said.
A triple link
Regarding the involvement of the United Nations in the Venezuelan conflict, the director of Hearts on Venezuela pointed out that the humanitarian response provided by the organization in the country has helped to protect the physical integrity of millions of Venezuelans. In this way, we are working on what is called a triple link, which refers to the interconnected action of the humanitarian, development and peacebuilding sectors. We intend that the actors in these different sectors work together to meet the needs of the population effectively, mitigating the vulnerabilities and advancing the construction of sustainable peace.
ÍBermúdez believes that the basis for demanding a more relevant role of the United Nations in building peace in Venezuela first depends on the organization of the Venezuelan population to build an indigenous vision of what peace means for their society. And, second, on the possibility of establishing an effective dialogue with the resident coordinator of the United Nations in the country, who holds a very important coordination function.
For Garrido, working together is very important. Not only with the United Nations, but also with the different organizations that contribute their experiences under cooperation agreements and projects, so that the proposals are much more robust and can meet the true needs of the communities. In this way, from the international point of view, internal cohesion also reflects the power of the communities to break the dominant narratives and carry out a peace process.
Other views of the conflict
When the conversation focuses solely on the polarization and denial of political actors, under a narrative of exclusion that responds to a zero-sum game, no progress is made. “While if you look at civil society, there is a much more interesting and much more nourished conversation there, of people who are really working to try to solve needs that are far from political polarization,” added Ciordia.
Bermúdez added that the creation of Hearts in Venezuela responds to the need to make available to the international community information on what is going on in Venezuela, beyond the visions, or versions, of different factions organized around political parties. This was a narrative focused on a struggle for power, “which makes the population and what was happening in society invisible, (..) as well as the organizations that carry out “an enormous effort to visibilize them… Not from ideology, a partisan agenda or an agenda associated with power, but through a real and deep vocation and a commitment to people.”
Glocal peace
Providing this information to the international community helps to break the most polarized contexts that can make the real situation in the country invisible. Covering various dialogues in a plural manner allows the different voices of society to be heard and considered in the public, democratic and pluralistic agenda, in which the interests of different sectors of society are taken into consideration. This will then be a more propitious space for conflicts to be resolved.
Garrido added that the concept of glocal peace is useful to understand what is happening in Venezuela and how the conflict can be transformed, an approach that allows us to conceive and analyze the different objectives of peace processes and their connection with different historical and cultural contexts. “Internally, we have to think about what peace means for each of us and what is the common goal.”
We need to use a common language to talk about the situation in Venezuela, one that can be shared and understood by the international community. “This is a complex job that takes time, but it will allow us to have better results because we are going to talk to others about issues that they will be able to understand,” Garrido stressed.
Human rights, dialogue and negotiation
Regarding the role played by civil society and the defense of human rights in the process of dialogue and negotiation, Mariateresa Garrido stressed that “spaces must be used and opportunities must be seized.” For this reason, the possibility of being present in the negotiation process is essential for civil society organizations to be able to get involved in the issue of human rights protection. In this way, the discussion can be redirected from an exclusively political conversation and take it to the level of protection of the population, “which in the end is what the State should be for and the reason for the existence of the organizations”.
The dialogue that must take place from civil society must break the existing polarization by presenting different information that moves away from the extremes and looks for middle ground and points in common. “That is exactly what negotiation is about, identifying what we can do to work together to get out of the crisis and find a solution to the problem.”
Mexico Agenda
Bermúdez added that it is also important for civil society to better understand the dynamics of the negotiation process in Mexico, currently on hold. He stressed that there are seven points on the Mexico agenda that can effectively help us build peace in Venezuela. The first is political rights for all. The second point guarantees electoral guarantees for all, and a roadmap for elections with observation. The third point is the lifting of sanctions and restoration of rights. Fourth, respect for the constitutional rule of law. Fifth, political and social coexistence, the renunciation of violence and reparation for the victims of violence. Sixth, the protection of the national economy and social protection measures for the Venezuelan people. And the sixth point is guarantees of implementation, follow-up and verification of the agreements.
The agenda indicates that reaching an agreement is one objective of the integral negotiation, through intense, comprehensive, incremental and peaceful negotiation, to establish clear rules of political and social coexistence with absolute respect for the National Constitution.
For Bermúdez, if a real agreement is reached between the parties under this agenda, the human rights situation in the country could be very different. “Then the role that civil society can play is to fight for these points, which is the fight for our rights. In these negotiations, we have the opportunity to exert an important political influence, and we must take advantage of the spaces from civil society, without mistaking our role rooted in autonomy and a commitment to the population.
Peace and political rights
Regarding the first two points on the negotiating agenda, political rights and electoral guarantees, Bermúdez was emphatic in pointing out that democracy is a right. And, therefore, one of the fundamental rights of a functional democracy is the right to political participation. How we have agreed on the exercise of democracy in Venezuelan society is outlined in the system established in the 1999 Constitution. “So the electoral path and the work toward the democratization of the country is also a work of peacebuilding. The more we have the right to political and public participation, the more possibilities we have for dialogue to peacefully resolve our conflicts under the rules of the agreements that we have already reached in instances such as the National Constitution and other more familiar social agreements that can be improved day by day in Venezuela”.
Bermúdez acknowledged that patriarchy continues to reign in Venezuela, systematically limiting the participation of women, not only in the political life of the country but also in social and economic life. “This also affects the LGBT community and other groups that have been systematically oppressed by social and historical systems.” It is extremely important that all people can fully participate in public affairs and defend their dignity. “Having recognition of our inherent value, as established in the framework of human rights.”
Reclaiming democracy
The UPeace professor expressed her agreement with the idea that democracy is an essential part of the peace process that has to start in Venezuela. Civil society plays a fundamental role in demanding a true and functioning democratic system. It can begin by analyzing how to participate in the democratic reconstruction beyond elections, for example, in the implementation of government plans and the design of public policies.
Civil society can also participate in the creation of alliances at the community level to achieve the kind of democratic participation that not only depends on elections, but also on how we get involved in the government on a day-to-day basis. “This is complex, as part of society is tired of elections and is not interested in participating… This part of society says ‘I don’t care who wins or loses, because I don’t see any kind of results in my community.’ So I also believe that the job is to motivate people to participate, not because they are going to get a job, not because they are going to earn money, but to constantly participate in government affairs and the creation and implementation of public policies.”
Bermúdez added that democracy is constantly being built. “And it is also our instrument to work toward a society with greater respect for rights. For a more open and protected civic space. So that people can build a fairer society, a peaceful society, and a prosperous society. So we must get involved in electoral issues and see the act of voting as a way to claim democracy for a better society.
Building peace day by day
“Peace is also a process, not a final state, it is something that we build day by day,” Ciordia said. She asked the panelists for their opinion on what citizens can do to build peace and be multipliers of a narrative of peace from our spaces.
In this regard, Bermúdez pointed out: “we can always be examples of peacebuilding by demonstrating how we solve conflicts in our own community, at home, and in our workplaces.” In the public sphere, we also have problems that affect us and we must take action to resolve them peacefully by using different strategies and giving importance to dialogue and reconciliation. “You have to appreciate the bonds with each person around us because, in the end, we are all looking for the best way to resolve our differences. And the best way is by talking to each other.
Mariateresa Garrido highlighted that even small actions can help to build peace every day. “Things as simple as saying good morning, good afternoon. Recognizing the work that another person is doing on a day-to-day basis. When we go to the bakery and say thank you very much and please”. Even when they treat us badly, we must understand that the other party may be going through a difficult situation, said the UPeace professor.
“That is a way of building peace, little by little. To give the other person the opportunity to be recognized as someone who is facing difficulties. This person is perhaps in the same situation as you, trying to solve a problem to no avail”. Maybe this good gesture will make the difference in the construction of the kind of dialogue that we want in the country,” concluded Garrido.
Ciordia concluded by recalling that all people are and can be builders of peace. “We have a role to play in this effort for dialogue, reconciliation, and recognition of the other. We can be multiplying agents of the narrative that we want to see at the highest level of the negotiation. Building peace must be part of our efforts every day, both as individuals and as organizations. Guided by these principles, we will be building peace.”
Translated by José Rafael Medina
