There is an old legal saying that good faith is presumed and bad faith must be proven. Under that same premise I begin by calling attention to the meeting held by several factors of civil society with the usurper of Miraflores, Nicolás Maduro Moros, belonging to the Civic Forum movement, who define themselves as "a movement of articulation and coordination that since 2021 has developed mechanisms of dialogue with all social and political sectors in order to revalue the capacities of demand and negotiation of society against power, emphasizing the recovery of civil rights and human rights as the basis of their action" (see in Spanish Various social sectors of the Civic Forum presented in Miraflores the agenda of urgent demands of the citizens, in https://cepaz.org/documentos_informes/diversos-sectores-sociales-del-foro-civico-presentaron-en-miraflores-la-agenda-de-demandas-urgentes-de-los-ciudadanos/).
As far as Venezuelans know, the first important action of this group of civil society organizations grouped under the name of Civic Forum was carried out on the occasion of the appointment of the CNE Rectors, summoned by the illegitimate National Assembly of the regime elected on December 6, 2020, as "civil society", trying now to take the necessary steps to participate in the appointment of the new TSJ Magistrates after the modification of the Organic Law of the TSJ in January 2022: "Just as in 2021 civil society organizations grouped under the Civic Forum carried out a process of dialogue and negotiation with different political sectors to agree, within the narrow limits of the political conditions we have today, on a directory for the CNE that, as it did, offered some confidence that an electoral process could be developed under better institutional and political conditions. In 2022, these same organizations have been activated to continue exercising that role in other areas. The judicial reform process is one of them" (highlighted by us).
In short, what is it that Venezuelans are contemplating here? Is it that part of those of us who call ourselves civil society are beginning to give in to the tragedy that is happening to us, and now we are trying to "coexist" in order to survive this tragedy? Or maybe the regime, in its infinite capacity to buy wills, is "convincing" factors of that civil society to give the perception that Venezuelans have had enough of so much controversy and are crying out for a normality that does not exist? What we contemplate here may be a part or a mixture of all of these, or simply none of them. And that deserves a little attention from all of us who are somehow concerned with the subject of civil society, when we ask ourselves if there is a civil society in Venezuela.
The truth is that civil society in any part of the world is not homogeneous. There may be factors in it that for one reason or another are openly in favor of the regime -and that would be perfectly valid- but there may also be respectable organizations and individuals who, even if they disagree with the regime, believe in good faith that by trying to coexist with those criminals, some of the conditions of the kidnapping where we live may be improved so that some human rights may exist for Venezuelans. The perception that Venezuelans have of this phenomenon is crucial. Let us look at the latter in more detail.
If indeed there are people who in good faith -which is always presumed- are willing to meet with Maduro for that purpose, the right question there would be, is it still valid to think that this is possible after everything we have lived through? In my opinion, it ceased to be possible when the regime decided to criminalize the opposition and to persecute, torture and assassinate people, regardless of our Human Rights and the Rule of Law. And I am not saying that myself, but rather substantiated reports from Human Rights organizations around the world and an open process against the main responsible parties, starting with Maduro, for crimes against Humanity in the International Criminal Court.
Now, from the Declaration of Principles of the Civic Forum movement, we read: "It is in our condition as citizens that we demand from those in power the urgent attention to the ills that affect us as a nation, always in strict compliance with the current Constitution and the international covenants on human rights signed by the Venezuelan State. It is within this framework that we propose the development of the necessary communication channels to redesign a negotiation mechanism that will lead the country towards a future of peace, welfare and progress for all. And as the master Pedro Nikken used to say: negotiation is not the best way, it is the only way". ( highlighted by us). If this is really so, they are openly falling into a contradiction.
There has not existed for a long time in Venezuela "strict compliance with the Constitution in force and the international covenants on human rights subscribed by the Venezuelan State", as it has already been proved, so that consequently, if we abide by that Declaration, the channels of communication "to lead the country towards a future of peace and progress for all" are impossible. Then, this group of citizens could hardly meet in good faith with the main protagonists of the regime and expect from them the full compliance with the Constitution and Human Rights, without being aware that the regime is using them, with their consent or not, for its purposes, whatever these may be. In logical inference, there would be serious doubts that they are acting in good faith towards Venezuelans.
That is not to say that Pedro Nikken was not right. But there are different ways of interpreting the statement of this well-remembered Venezuelan jurist. One negotiates with the criminals who hold a nation hostage, not so that they remain in the kidnapping indefinitely, but to end it definitively (see The negotiation of a kidnapped country, in https://ticsddhh.blogspot.com/p/the-negotiation-of-kidnapped-country.html).
In the midst of this contradiction, these members of the so-called Civic Forum present themselves as a face of civil society committed to the welfare of citizens, when in reality they are in practice being used, deliberately or not, as catalysts of the policies required by the regime to perpetuate itself in power. If they do this in an unconscious manner, the seriousness of their participation in the perpetuation of the regime will be left for posterity's judgment of each one of them. But the phenomenon is still there, distorting the perception of reality.
From the letter addressed by these citizens to Nicolás Maduro Moros (see in Spanish Letter from personalities of the Foro Cívico to Nicolás Maduro Moros, in https://twitter.com/Dale_Letra/status/1511521775208837126), where they highlight that since they already "...carried out a process of dialogue and negotiation with different political sectors, from the opposition and the government, to agree, within the narrow limits of the political conditions we have today, a directory for the CNE that would offer, as it did, some confidence that an electoral process could be developed...", now the Civic Forum nominated "11 candidates that model the characteristics we would like to see in all the magistrates", now the Civic Forum nominated "11 candidates that model the characteristics we would like to see in all magistrates", concluding that "with the radical realism that inspires us, we are concerned that it was not the qualifications of the candidates that decided the selection, but we do not believe that it is possible to ask for accountability and management if we do not participate and follow closely the nomination process, making the voice of the institutionality and the spirit of the Constitution heard".
The mere fact of having contributed with a spurious National Assembly, declared illegitimate, not only by the International Community but also by the mandate of the Venezuelan people in the Popular Consultation held from December 7 to 12, 2020, for the selection of the CNE Rectors and now for the selection of the new TSJ Magistrates, shows their open recognition of the regime as the legitimate power of the Republic, against the mandate expressed in two popular consultations by the Venezuelan people. What right do these citizens have to openly ignore that? And this is a fact, not our speculation.
This "radical realism" that they mention to justify participation in the process of appointing the new Magistrates was the same that Henrique Capriles used to justify the participation of the official opposition in the regional elections of November 21, 2021. (see in Spanish Capriles "A dose of radical realism is lacking" in the opposition, in https://www.lavozdefalcon.info.ve/capriles-falta-una-dosis-de-realismo-radical-en-la-oposicion/). In both cases, the message of a realism that accepts to coexist with a regime that ignores the will of the people has been rejected by Venezuelans in two popular consultations.
We could not know the "characteristics" that the Civic Forum would like to see for the new Magistrates, but it would be unthinkable to pretend, in a situation of hijacking of all public powers, that this group would aspire to be able to demand subsequent accounts from the tyranny of Nicolás Maduro Moros, both for the actions of the CNE Rectors, and for the Magistrates that the regime ends up negotiating for the TSJ in an illegitimate National Assembly, just for participating in this farce that they are providing them with. The experience with the regime has shown that they openly despise any contribution from the civil society, and even less those that come, deliberately or not, in favor of the regime's goals.
So, to the question of the title, is there an alacran civil society? Unfortunately, we must accept that there are organizations and personalities that are playing the perverse game of the regime, contributing to its continuity. It is an existence that we must admit as we admit the existence in the country of the corruption of the parties, the scorpions of " the little table" and the disappearance of the Rule of Law in Venezuela. But just as this reality is palpable to Venezuelans, so is the existence of scorpions disguised as civil society that the regime uses for its purposes, but which fortunately can be detected by these contradictions, and which is not something that cannot be perceived as the rest of our evils, only that this one is more perverse because it hides under the cloak of "helping us" to tolerate the permanence of tyranny when the reality shows the opposite.
No matter how many arguments those who work, meet or sign in favor of collaborating with the kidnappers to supposedly "improve" the conditions of those kidnapped and subdued by force of arms, will be able to avoid the judgment of history, which has confirmed time and again that those who take this path end up being notoriously and socially despised as a result of future events. Finally, they end up understanding the hard way that the way is not to collaborate with the kidnappers, but to make the corresponding civil resistance until they succeed in expelling them from power.
This regime that castrates our liberties will inevitably fall sooner rather than later, and those who helped them directly or indirectly, naively or deliberately, will be subjected to the scrutiny and public judgment of the population. The history of Venezuela and the world has many examples of that. They will not be remembered because they tried to "appease the suffering" but because they collaborated for the permanence of those who trampled on us. That will be a sad, but well deserved end for those who misunderstand the role of civil society in the greatness of their nations.
Caracas, April 15, 2022
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