I have received some inquiries from friends abroad, requesting my opinion about the registration in the technical platform set up for that purpose by the National Primary Commission (CNP), in view of the decision of that CNP to "self-manage" the vote of the citizens. Perhaps I am not the most appropriate person for this consultation, since I have publicly expressed my opinion against this primary process, which I think contributes, not only to generate once again a false expectation among the people that "this time we will get out of the regime", but also to legitimize with our presence in the elections a new electoral fraud by those who control the system of counting votes. However, even so, I think it is important that people have as much information as possible to make the best decision in favor of their interests.
Since the announcement that the CNE would not interfere in the primaries, people felt more comfortable in providing their data to the CNP. However, we must not forget that this chapter of the CNE is not over yet. Until the last moment the regime will have something to say in that process. What happened was that the CNE Rectors were "resigned" by the regime, and the CNP decided to "self-manage" the process and not to continue waiting due to the tight schedule they had. But this does not mean that a new CNE will not decide, upon taking office, after any ruling of the TSJ of the regime regarding this process, to force the CNP to deliver the data collected up to that moment for the holding of the primaries.
I must admit that this is a hypothetical scenario, but it could be very possible due to the long experience we have with tyranny. The other scenario is that no primaries are held due to lack of resources, or that the resources they can convene before October are not enough for the kind of primaries they intend to hold, and they decide on another mechanism at the last minute (consensus?) among the registered participants. Then, the data collected up to that moment would remain in the hands of someone (it is not known who) of the official opposition, ready to be later used for any electoral whim.
In the event that the primaries are held, someone should, in good faith, take responsibility for the opposition data, destroying or erasing whatever needs to be destroyed and erased so as not to run the risk of ending up in the hands of the tyranny, as was effectively done by the 2012 Primary Commission, which responsibly burned the electoral notebooks at the end of the process, even when threatened by the regime.
Since there is no data protection regulation in Venezuela (there is not even rule of law!), it is up to opposition voters everywhere in the world to trust those who administer this process at the CNP. (see Primary and data protection, in https://ticsddhh.blogspot.com/p/primary-and-data-protection.html) and hope for the best in their performances. I understand that many opponents in Venezuela and abroad are already registering. If those Venezuelans still believe that a candidate coming out of those primaries will make any difference in 2024 from what has happened so far with the electoral processes conducted by the regime, register and vote in that process.
I do not wish to be pessimistic or convey pessimism. I simply state the facts without raising false expectations. I wrote a doctoral thesis on the protection of citizens' data in Latin America, proposing a methodology to measure the phenomenon, and as expected, Venezuela is the most serious case in the protection of its citizens' data (see in Spanish Doctoral Thesis of MSc. Luis Manuel Aguana, THE USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES (ICT) FOR POLITICAL CONTROL AND THE LIMITATION OF THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY: DEVELOPMENT OF INDICATORS FOR THE MEASUREMENT AND APPLICATION OF THEIR APPLICATION IN LATIN AMERICA, in https://tinyurl.com/5eh9v7a5). There you will find enough information for you to draw your own conclusions.
Now, beyond the fact that Venezuelans register to vote in these primaries, and that we all fervently wish that the chosen candidate has the best intentions of standing up to the regime to effectively collect the result, it would be very naive of us to believe that the mere civic act of voting and going home will be enough for the plethora of criminals who hold power in Venezuela to separate themselves from it when that means losing their freedom or their lives.
The electoral act is a CIVILIZED action, proper of citizens who understand that the majority of the people decide who should lead the State. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Venezuela. We have witnessed, throughout these very hard 23 years, how the tyranny has olympically ignored this fundamental democratic principle. Why would the regime behave in a different way in this new opportunity? Because we, the opponents, are the majority? We cannot take this pretense to such an extreme.
While it is true that it is important to demonstrate to the world through the votes that Venezuelans have opted for a majority and resounding rejection of those who misgovern us, it is no less true that this demonstration has already been made in the past in the same way in two Popular Consultations, in 2017 and 2020, without any force from outside or inside the country moving one millimeter. Is there now any indication that the opposite will be the case for 2024?
We Venezuelans are still waiting again, and this time from the hands of a savior candidacy, for someone to solve for us what each one of us has not faced from the perspective of our own terrible reality. And reality indicates the need to deepen the hard and consistent struggle, driven by a determined, constant and permanent movement of citizen movements of organized civil resistance, that does not deceive itself in the terms and ways that are required to face a tyranny like the one we have, which is unique in the world, willing to go over our heads at any price in order not to dislodge the power. I truly hope that whoever wins the victory in this role does not have the same historical destiny that all the saviors have had...
Caracas, June 29, 2023
Blog:
TIC’s & Derechos Humanos, https://ticsddhh.blogspot.com/
Email: luismanuel.aguana@gmail.com
Twitter:@laguana
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