During a virtual forum, UCAB Center for Human Rights, Provea, and Espacio Público presented a document with the priority actions to recover the rule of law. The organizers called on civil society to articulate to demand the reinstitutionalization of the country, given the deepening of the crisis after the parliamentary elections
Recovering democracy alongside the right to a life with justice and dignity was the main reason for the forum “Let’s rescue the right to live in a democracy”, held on Monday, November 30.
The online event was thought of as a space for reflection, based on the reality of the country, and served for the presentation of a “decalogue for action”, a document prepared by the UCAB Center for Human Rights (CDH UCAB) together with NGOs Provea and Espacio Público, which contains 10 postulates and proposals for the restitution of the rule of law, with citizens as main actors in the process.
The forum was organized by CDH UCAB and included the participation of Francisco José Virtuoso, rector of UCAB; Jesús María Casal, constitutional lawyer and professor of Law at UCAB; Carlos Correa, director at Espacio Público; Marysabel Rodríguez, researcher at CDH UCAB; Rafael Uzcátegui, general coordinator at Provea, and Mercedes De Freitas, executive director at Transparencia Venezuela. The event was hosted by Eduardo Trujillo, director at CDH UCAB.
The UCAB rector opened the discussion by noting that the publication of the “decalogue” is based on the “situation of destruction” associated with the reality of the country, which has led Venezuelan families to tragedy, mass migration, political persecution, and civil and political rights violations; Faced with this, he emphasized that “only a process of recovery of democracy as a form of government and as a form of social life can lead to sustainable human development.”
To make this reconstruction possible, Virtuoso pondered the crucial role that all Venezuelans play:
“We are convinced that the main actors in this process are the citizens and social organizations because democracy is not only a result, it is also an exercise of struggle, conquest, and collective work, which generates habits of interrelation, dialogue, inclusion, and collective commitment. Venezuela wants to live in peace, reconciliation, respect for diversity, and security. We meet to propose the recovery of democracy as a right inherent to human dignity and a guarantee of the rule of law and the protection of human rights. At the same time, we cannot speak of democracy if the government system neglects human rights and the rule of law.”
The National Constitution was the point of reference for the elaboration of the decalogue on which the proposal is based. It was prepared by a group of civil organizations and presented by Virtuoso, who highlighted that “we have chosen ten points that guide our goals and purposes, and must be beyond any particular situation and political conflict”, namely:
1.- The people are the owners of their political fate and the public officials are at their service
2.- There are guarantees for citizen participation
3.- There are opportunities for the free formation of public opinion
4.- We can intervene in decisions and contribute to solving social problems
5.- We can decide the course of economic development and ensure the inclusion of all
6.- Free and fair elections are held, with reliable electoral bodies
7.- Coexistence and respect between majorities and minorities are promoted
8.- There are limits and effective controls on public officials
9.- Responsibility, transparency, and accountability are required
10.-The Armed Forces are subordinate to the civil power
At the end of his speech, the rector of UCAB extended an invitation to review and sign the document containing the decalogue, and called for promoting it at the national level, so that it becomes a reference to organize similar meetings, especially with key stakeholders in civil society with the capacity to spread the information and generate the process of reinstitutionalization.
You can download the document “Rescatemos el derecho a vivir en democracia. Decálogo para la acción” (Let ‘s rescue the right to live in democracy. Decalogue for action) HERE.
“We must build democracy again”
Jesús María Casal, a member of the Academy of Political and Social Sciences and professor at the UCAB Law School, explained the legal and theoretical basis of the decalogue, noting that “in reality, the democracy we want to recover must be built from scratch”.
Casal pointed out that the document makes a diagnosis of the dismantling of democratic institutions, the economic and social devastation of the country, and the destruction of the rule of law, but at the same time makes a series of proposals so that citizens, with the use of democratic tools based on popular sovereignty and human rights, are “capable of defining their collective fate.”
According to the constitutional lawyer, the proposal recognizes the work of civil society organizations and hopes to contribute to bringing them together in this “work of resistance and democratic commitment.” He added that one of the central ideas embodied in the decalogue is that the “aspiration to live in a democracy is not only a legitimate claim but also a right (…) A right based on all human rights.”
Professor Casal highlighted that, in order to recover democracy, it is urgent to create the conditions for citizens to regain a leading role in the definition of their political destiny, which has been curtailed with the seizing of opposition parties, community participation (under the so-called communal state), respect for the autonomy of social organizations, and the freedom of information and demonstration (violated by the judicial persecution of the Supreme Court).
Casal said that “Democracy offers mechanisms to solve our problems in plurality”; for this reason, “in the drafting of this decalogue we have taken into account the problems of the country, the complex humanitarian emergency, the dismantling of educational and health services, economic and social stagnation. We wanted to emphasize that democracy is open to these problems and offers us the tools to find solutions in freedom, in a collective and plural way”.
He indicated that the Decalogue considers other aspects such as the need for free, fair, and reliable elections; ensuring coexistence between the majority and minorities in the face of the exacerbation of moral anti-pluralism, which has gone from “extreme political polarization to the denial of pluralism and the persecution of dissent and political opponents”; regaining the independence of judges and the autonomy of the bodies that exercise control over public officials; and the full insertion of the country in the international rule of law, including the compliance with the commitments acquired in international treaties. He mentioned the need to subordinate the Armed Forces to the civil power, which has been lost with the “politicization of its members and the forces as a whole.”
“We leave this decalogue in your hands so it can serve as a guide to overcoming the institutional debacle. It is about propping up our demands for freedom, justice, and a dignified life, with the support of the mechanisms for the construction of democratic life and the awareness of the role that, as citizens, we play in the recovery of that right ”.
“Together we have to overcome the pretension of silence”
“There are attempts in Venezuela to silence all those who disagree; people’s opinion is not respected, they are persecuted, attacked, and now criminalized through legal instruments,” said Carlos Correa, director at Espacio Público, one of the organizations that prepared the decalogue and whose mission is to promote freedom of expression, the right to information, and social responsibility in the media.
Correa claimed that one of the great challenges for Venezuelans is to be willing to inform and be informed because these two aspects have consequences in the country:
“Being informed in Venezuela is a great challenge because you have to face censorship, the blockade, and if you want to report, you will probably be persecuted, or if you touch certain powers they will attack you. We have to try to build strategies for collective action to overcome fear, to democratically try to continue participating. The best way to defend this right is by exercising it in a creative, innovative way and also by accompanying those who are persecuted for speaking out, even if one does not agree with their opinions. Together we have to overcome the pretension of silence. The attempt to silence all voices”.
Referring to the Venezuelan case, the Espacio Público director pointed out that “democracy is an aspiration and a permanent construction (…) that not only translates into the fundamental act of voting but also respect to diversity and pluralism as values. We can all join together to do good, doing good is not a government monopoly ”. He also affirmed that the fate of Venezuela is good as long as society advocates for human rights, dignity, and justice for all people.
“With the decalogue, we want to encourage, cheer up Venezuelan society to talk about the meaning we want to give to democratic life in the country because in some way it is a possibility of solving not only the personal dimension but the enormous challenges we have in the country”, concluded Correa.
“Doing politics is responding, even in specific situations, to collective needs”
Marysabel Rodríguez, a researcher at the UCAB Center for Human Rights, based her intervention on a reflection: “if we engage in politics, at least in community spaces on specific situations, many times without even realizing it, imagine what could be done to the recovery of our right to live in a democracy if we do it consciously and coordinated”. Rodríguez explained that politics refers, in its broadest sense, “to matters of public, social, or collective interest, which interests us all” and that its importance lies “in that it deals with those crucial issues so that we have a common base that allows a dignified life. And dealing with these issues is not just talking about them, giving speeches or making proposals; above all, it involves doing, convincing, negotiating, promoting, and realizing the changes for improvement in conjunction with the others”.
To show more clearly what are situations in which citizens can intervene to solve common problems, Rodríguez discussed two of the many cases that occur throughout the country: the installation of a soup kitchen for girls and boys in a slum by a group of women, mothers and grandmothers, concerned about the situation of these children. The other case involves a group of young people who came together to bring information to their neighbors, through flyers or shouting the news in public places in the area. In both cases, the members of the groups thought about the problem, what to do, how to do it, they looked for resources, and organized themselves to achieve the common good.
“Millions in the country and abroad seek to solve problems and meet their needs amid great limitations. However, they are engaging in politics because they respond, even in a very specific way, to collective needs. Second, they contact people with similar problems, they think together, argue, and even get upset, but many continue because of the common need that compels them.”
“We must build a bridge for an anti-corruption coalition”
Demanding responsibility, transparency. and accountability is the ninth principle of the decalogue presented by UCAB, Provea, and Espacio Público. To show the magnitude of the problem and how it has been faced in the country, the forum included the participation of Mercedes De Freitas, executive director at Transparencia Venezuela, an organization that promotes transparency in public management and fights corruption.
De Freitas noted that “In Venezuela, a pattern of generalized corruption emerged after 2003, (…) This pattern of corruption has a large list of elements that make it special in Venezuela and allows for the definition of generalized corruption, not only because of the extraordinary amounts that have disappeared from the public treasury for the benefit of a few, but also because this generalized corruption remains unpunished, because it buys out, captures, and makes justice an accomplice.” She added that this phenomenon has international reach, that 89 of such cases are under investigation in 21 countries, and that the money involved in 54 of them exceeds $ 31 billion. “Corruption is responsible for the humanitarian crisis. With that money, we could build dozens of hospitals ”.
The steps to change this situation, according to De Freitas, lie in the first place in overcoming frustration, hopelessness, and mistrust. That is why she pointed out that the document presented by the UCAB offers a “necessary and unavoidable line of citizen action.”
“The best we can do to face all this apathy and disinterest, all the frustration due to the size of the task is to take a point from the Decalogue and begin to walk the path of citizen demands; the moment you start walking, you start to see the way (…) Being, demanding, and building is a route that the Decalogue teaches us”.
As an example of this route, the Transparencia Venezuela director spoke about the Anti-Corruption Coalition, created by the organization in 2019, noting that it now has 800 member organizations in 19 states, with 530 initiatives in different areas.
“The coalition works on 12 tasks, which cannot be done by a single citizen, nor by a single organization,” said De Freitas, who urged to do things now, “without waiting for change, democracy, or a transition. That will be built if we all start working now, and that begins by saying no to corruption, starting at home, my community, my specific space. It is difficult, but it can be done”.
2021, a year for civil society in the face of the “deepening of the political crisis”
The last panelist to speak was Rafael Uzcátegui, Provea’s general coordinator, who reflected on the need to work on rescuing the right to live in a democracy. He first mentioned the need to build a democratic narrative that inspires the population as a whole.
“Until now, unfortunately, the desire to capitalize on anger and discontent has prevailed in the political discourse, but as we all know from the results, this is not enough, (…) because all the great social endeavors began with a promise, and that promise then bred an organization, a movement. First, it was words, and then it was action.”
The human rights activist pointed out that the decalogue is a great opportunity for the term democracy to become a flag under which “all people feel identified and place their own desire for a dignified life for themselves and their families”. For us to be able to create that emotion in the population, we must define the audience to whom the messages are directed.
“I believe that the great challenge is to speak to the rest of the population that is usually not interested in these issues, particularly at a time when they are disconnecting from the discussion in political spaces as a resilience strategy in the face of the severity of the crisis. You have to try to understand the references for the rest of the population and from there establish communication.”
As a second point, he referred to 2021 as “the year of civil society”, noting that currently “we are experiencing a crisis of political representation” and that the December 6 elections “blew up the bridges that remained between the different political sectors of the Venezuelan opposition”, which means that “political organizations will continue to fragment” next year. In this context, Uzcátegui affirmed that it will be “the social, people’s, and community organizations of Venezuela that are going to have a greater capacity to report, mobilize, and document the demands of the people.”
The Provea coordinator added that the proposed decalogue is a guide for action to regain the right to live in a democracy. “It is important to have a frank, open debate (with the political leaders) about the route and the strategy. We will have to rethink many things and regain strength as a joint movement. The decalogue is an opportunity ”.
At the end of the meeting, the rector of UCAB reiterated the need for the document to be disseminated to generate medium-term lines of action and build a “social pact”, especially in light of the consequences of the parliamentary elections.
“We are doing this today because we believe that the serious political crisis that will deepen after December 6 has to help us look forward. This document aims to show the way… We must build mechanisms of action to recover democracy. We have said it before, it is the time for civil society. We must rebuild this society from the bottom up, so part of all the efforts we want to make is to generate many initiatives that hopefully can lead to a national pact of the right to live in a democracy or advance civil initiatives in that direction.
The document “Rescatemos el derecho a vivir en democracia. Decálogo para la acción” (Let ‘s rescue the right to live in democracy. Decalogue for action) is available in Spanish on the website of the UCAB Center for Human Rights, www.cdh.ucab.edu.ve
You can also download it HERE.
You can become a signatory of the document HERE.
Translated by José Rafael Medina
