Nicmer Evans, a dissident of chavismo, is part of a group within the opposition trying to advance a new recall referendum against Nicolás Maduro
The political scientist and founder of Movimiento Democracia e Inclusión [the Democracy and Inclusion Movement] told Efecto Cocuyo that Juan Guaidó and Henrique Capriles were consulted several times about the intention to promote the mechanism but “the lack of political will” prevented the unitary platform from filing a request before the National Electoral Council (CNE).
On May 25, Evans and former governor César Pérez Vivas paid a visit to the headquarters of the Electoral Power in Caracas to formally demand the registration of the citizen group Movimiento Venezolano por el Revocatorio [Venezuelan Movement for the recall referendum] as a prerequisite to carry out the referendum.
Evans is critical of the new opposition coalition, which in his opinion “is not an instance of political debate but compliance with instructions.”
Why did you act independently from the unitary platform in the presentation of the proposal? And why was it rejected?
The truth is that the platform does not have any instance to present anything. There have been no meetings for any political discussion. I understand that only the group of the nine biggest political parties (AD, UNT, PJ, VP, UNT, Avanzada Progresista, La Causa R, Alianza Bravo Pueblo, and Vente Venezuela) is entitled to make certain decisions.
Despite the criticism, all the members of the national committee promoting the recall referendum belong to the organizations that are part of the unitary platform, including trade unions and workers associations.
We presented this proposal to Juan Guaidó twice and, both last year and this year, Juan argued that it is a tool that can be actively present in negotiations and this is what we are requesting today, we are not submitting the request on our own, we have carried out a consultation process with various political organizations, civil society, and Henrique Capriles himself; they all conceded that it was a valid tool.
If everyone agreed, why did not the request to the CNE come from the unitary platform? Was there a lack of political will?
Political will was lacking due to an excess of political calculation concerning the fear of thinking that the activation of the recall referendum would legitimize the 2018 presidential elections.
Doesn’t activating a recall referendum mean validating the 2018 presidential elections?
Requesting a recall referendum means defending our rights whether we are in a democracy or dictatorship. There is a fact, whenever you pay your electricity bill you pay it to (Nicolás) Maduro and that does not mean legitimizing him; whenever you collect the bonus for the “invention of the year” through the Carnet de la Patria (The State’s Loyalty Card), you do not legitimize Maduro. When you live in a dictatorship you do not stop fighting for your rights and the recall referendum is one of them, as well as the right to vote.
Even though there is the illegitimacy of origin regarding the government that the referendum is intending to recall, it is totally valid. In the opposition, we have become very alienated by the issue of the recognition of the Maduro administration. Maduro is an illegitimate president, but he is the president, he is the one who has control over the institutions; clinging to the thesis of doing nothing because “there is no government” is to give up our rights.
Capriles asked not to open 200 fronts with the request for the recall referendum and to submit it for discussion, what is your answer?
He was one of the first leaders with whom we discussed this issue. He makes these remarks with full knowledge of the direct line of communication he has with those who are raising the proposal, just as Guaidó and Leopoldo López do. They have our permanent disposition to articulate everything concerning this issue, we are adding alternative routes within the framework of a strategy to achieve the same goal. The recall referendum is complementary.
How do you plan to overcome the challenges posed by ruling 147 of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice ordering the collection of 20% of the signatures in each state?
Let’s go step by step. The first thing we expect is a statement by the CNE, which is responsible for scheduling a recall referendum. At the same time, we are carrying out a series of actions that will try to overcome the unfair conditions that have been imposed for the activation of this right.
Under the constitution, the institutions are obliged to facilitate these processes; we are going to request the review of the norms that we consider to violate the Constitution and we ask Guaidó to make the recall referendum part of the negotiation, the debate, and the discussion as an element for pressure that must also be activated.
What are your criticisms of the unitary platform?
The unitary platform is not an instance of political debate, it is an instance of compliance with instructions, there is no possibility of influencing decision-making, the communications are informed to us, we are not consulted. There is no difference between the unitary platform and the rest of the efforts such as the Frente Amplio (Broad Front) where the hegemony of the four biggest political parties (Primero Justicia, Acción Democrática, Voluntad Popular, and Un Nuevo Tiempo) intends to make decisions on behalf of the rest.
However, we continue to believe that these instances are really useful for the setting up of mechanisms of articulation and political leadership.
What is the structure of the Venezuelan Movement for the recall referendum? Do you have a presence in all the states of the country?
The Venezuelan Movement for the recall referendum was born from a commission for the promotion of a recall referendum; we have begun to replicate this structure in the states and municipalities since October 2020. The spokesmanship will rotate among work teams, we have a team for communications, logistics, legal affairs, and international relations.
Translated by José Rafael Medina
