By Luis
Manuel Aguana
I
have always thought that Don Quixote's phrase "With the Church
we have met, friend Sancho" from Cervantes' immortal novel,
which was not written in the context in which it has historically
been interpreted, has become popular to denote the power of the
Church as a human institution. Perhaps Cervantes should have given it
that intention because truly sooner or later everyone ends up
crashing against the wall of that millenary institution, which for
some reason is the only human organization that has lasted for more
than 2 thousand years. That's why people should read between the
lines and very carefully what they say.
The
Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, the highest representation of the
Catholic Church in the country, yesterday raised the headlines in
favor of attending the electoral process called by the Maduro regime
for the end of the year (see
in Spanish Comunicado
ante las elecciones parlamentarias, in
https://conferenciaepiscopalvenezolana.com/presidencia-de-la-cev-emitio-comunicado-ante-las-elecciones-parlamentarias).
Immediately everyone reacted by indicating that the Church had been
pressured to send this contradictory message to the Venezuelan people
(by the regime or the Vatican, we do not know), accusing the bishops
of betraying the majority sentiment of the people by rejecting this
fraudulent electoral act.
That
reaction is natural at first glance. The Catholic Church has been
consistent in its rejection of the regime, but it has also been
equally consistent in pointing out that the way to resolve the
political crisis must be through an electoral act, without the
violence that everyone is clamoring to get this regime out as it
deserves, at a clean shot. But if there is one thing we Venezuelans
have learned from the democratic era, it is to resolve our political
differences with votes. And that is a great socio-political advance.
Going backwards is a return to the barbarism of the previous century.
When political violence starts, it hardly stops. Just look at
Gaitan's Colombia since 1948. And that is what the Church fears.
The
CEV has not said anything different than that it has not accepted the
Venezuelan opposition political leadership before by competing with
the regime in all electoral processes since the beginning of this
nightmare, regardless of the electoral conditions. The Church is well
aware of that: Point 3 of the CEV's Communiqué: "...We
are aware of the irregularities that have been committed up to now in
the process of calling and preparing for this electoral event: from
the appointment of the directors of the National Electoral Council,
the confiscation of some political parties, the disqualification of
candidates, threats, persecutions and imprisonment of some political
leaders, the change in the number of deputies and electoral
districts. It is immoral any maneuver that hinders the political and
social solution of the real problems present in the country".
However,
they also say that abstention alone is not enough and that we should
look for different ways out for a people who wish to vote: Point 4 of
the CEV's Communiqué: "...In
view of this, an important group of leaders and political parties
have expressed their willingness not to participate in the
parliamentary elections. This is not enough, they must assume the
responsibility of looking for solutions and generating proposals for
the people who have believed in them for years, since the mere
abstention will increase the political-social fracture in the country
and the hopelessness for the future".
I agree with that. And as responsible leadership of civil society
ANCO has generated a proposal to the country and the government in
charge that goes beyond the regime and its electoral system (see
in Spanish
Comunicado
ANCO Propuesta al Gobierno Encargado: “Que el pueblo Decida”,
https://ancoficial.blogspot.com/2020/08/comunicado-anco-propuesta-al-gobierno.html).
However,
the bishops still insist - as they have ALWAYS insisted and the
official opposition has accompanied them - that the overwhelming
majority of the opposition electorate alone will disregard the
regime's pretensions, forgetting that even if the results are
"positive", the criminals who usurp power in Venezuela will
ignore the popular will, as they have indeed done since the beginning
of the Castro-Chávez-Madurist nightmare. It is enough to remember
the cases such as the eviction of the Metropolitan Mayor's Office of
Antonio Ledezma, the open disregard of the electoral results of the
Governorship of the State of Bolivar of Andrés Velásquez, and how
to forget the famous "disrespect" of the current National
Assembly, which was annulled from the first day by the TSJ of the
regime. Point 4 of the CEV's Communiqué "...Despite the
irregularities, the massive participation of the people is necessary
and will be able to overcome the totalitarian attempts and the
advantage of the government". Hence the reason for our
struggle because the popular will is truly manifested in an
autonomous manner in a Plebiscitary Popular Consultation, without the
participation of an Electoral Power kidnapped from the regime, which
defines Maduro's presence in power, establishing a clear route for
the liberation of Venezuela.
Make
no mistake, the CEV's communiqué demands the "full and free"
participation of all parties, urging the regime and its opposition to
mobilize, alluding to the old spectre of the non-participation of the
people in the 2005 parliamentary elections. Point 4 of the CEV
Communiqué: "...This decision to abstain deprives Venezuelan
citizens of the valid instrument to defend their rights in the
National Assembly. Not participating in the parliamentary elections
and the call for abstention leads to immobilization, the abandonment
of political action and the renunciation of showing one's strength.
Something similar happened in December 2005, and it did not have any
positive results".
The CEV
forgets why we Venezuelans decided not to participate in the
elections that year. I remind them: the fraud of the Revocation
Referendum of the previous August 15, 2004. Venezuelans demonstrated
with that level of abstention in 2005 that Chavez lost that recall
and the parties did not charge for it. They did not mobilize the
country, they did not ignore that elected National Assembly with a
pyrrhic number of votes. All of Venezuela would have been with them.
They accepted that illegitimate result! I remind the CEV that it was
not us Venezuelans who were guilty of what happened after we
abstained from participating in a trap, but the opposition leadership
by putting itself in complicity with the regime by blaming US for its
lack of leadership and action in the face of an electoral delinquent.
That is the historical truth. The 2005 abstention was the largest
non-violent movement in our country since the April 11, 2002 march
that dethroned Chavez. But just like that day, the political
leadership of the opposition was NOT AT THE HEIGHT OF THE VENEZUELAN
PEOPLE.
The
Catholic Church hopes that the regime and the official opposition
will put aside their interests and carry out a joint act of "full
and free" participation, even if this is in practice only an
aspiration, but it is the Church's obligation to ask the leadership
to do so. Point 5 of the CEV Communiqué: "...The
present moment demands the full and free participation of all
political parties and movements, together with the unavoidable
commitment of the authorities and their leaders to put aside their
own interests in order to promote the common good and the service of
all the Venezuelan people”.
Unlike
many of those who have thought that this communiqué is a "betrayal"
of the bishops, they are wrong. I see no contradiction in the CEV
Communiqué in relation to what they have already said and done in
the past, even when they accompanied unconditional elections. What I
see is rather a reaffirmation of their position before the country,
but in this opportunity leaving a gap for the opposition to do
something new and challenging if a militant abstention has been
decided: "...This is not enough,
they must assume the responsibility of looking for ways out and
generating proposals for the people who for years have believed in
them, because the only abstention will make the political-social
fracture in the country and the hopelessness for the future grow".
And
they're right. If in 2005 the Church had made that recommendation and
the official opposition had listened, abstention would have been the
powerful driving force behind the general feeling of unease in the
country, bringing about the changes we still need. And if they had
behaved as true leaders of that popular feeling of general unrest
provoked by an open fraud in 2004, we Venezuelans would not be here
and now crying on a sidewalk because of this monumental disaster. I
regret that this CEV Communiqué has not been read by the country
with the right lens and that it is necessary to put the magnifying
glass between the lines. Quixote will always be universally right to
warn us when we encounter the Church...
Caracas,
August 12, 2020
Email:
luismanuel.aguana@gmail.com
Twitter:@laguana
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