In today's exponentially more and more automated world, the most precious commodity is information. And of all the broad spectrum of information out there, that related to people, such as their personal profile and behavioral attributes, is one of the most valuable. This justifies the millions of dollars that Internet companies invest every year in social networks to keep us glued to the cloud as much of our existence as possible.
Venezuelans are not an isolated territory from the world, and to add to all our current misfortunes, we find ourselves unprotected from this global phenomenon affecting humanity, which has incorporated the Internet, social networks and all Information and Communication Technologies (TIC or TICs as I call them in the title of this blog) to its daily work, social and entertainment activities.
It is impossible not to incorporate these technologies into any project, and even less so when it is a question of reaching the entire population of a country. The problem is how to do it while being subjected to the straitjacket of an authoritarian regime, which has left aside any kind of respect for the Human Rights of the citizens. When the simple fact of facilitating the process to the voters of the primaries, the National Commission of Primaries (CNP) puts in operation a site in the web to indicate to the voters the place where they will cast their vote in the primaries, without being that CNP any public authority.
A few months ago, I recalled the limitations of data protection in Venezuela, especially in the case of the opposition primaries. (see Primary and data protection, in https://ticsddhh.blogspot.com/p/primary-and-data-protection.html).
It indicated that anyone in Venezuela can request, without any regulation, private information of Venezuelans under any speech, and get one of the most precious assets that a person possesses, which is his own personal information, delivered to them. Although this page indicates that it is for "consult", it may very well store the identification of the person making the consultation, and since there is no regulation (and even if there is, since we are in the country itself without law), its authors are exposed in Venezuela to actions in the courts by citizens who have the right to be excluded from this process through a Habeas Data action guaranteed in Article 28 of the Constitution (ver AlbertoNews, Introducen acción constitucional de Habeas Data, en https://tinyurl.com/bdfd3bxd).
And even if this is seen as an action of the regime -which in my opinion it is- to hinder the already undermined path of the primaries, it is no less true that it reveals how little thought and worse carried out are the actions of the official opposition to carry out this process successfully.
In order to perform this service, the NPC had to make use of the Electoral Registry, which is public according to the Organic Law of Electoral Processes (LOPE) in force, which states in its Article 28, numeral 1, the following: "The Electoral Registry shall be governed by the following principles:1- Of a public nature. All persons may access and obtain the information contained therein, with the limitations established by law. In order to guarantee the right to privacy and intimacy of each person, access to data related to residence shall be limited and may only be obtained through the requirements of judicial or administrative authorities" (emphasis added).
However, even if the registry is public, used by a private party such as the CNP, it can expose to anyone who requests it, with knowledge of the identity card number and date of birth of any person, data that is only of interest to the person referenced. Is that a loophole in the law? Can a private party other than the CNE do that? The CNE in its portal publicly exposes, to any person, the voting place of any Venezuelan with an identity card number.
In any case, the Habeas Data action would be decided by a court, possibly the TSJ of the regime. But as we know beforehand the state of the country's justice system and to whom it answers, the answer should not surprise us much. It reminded me of the action undertaken likewise from within, against the Revocatory Referendum of 2016, and reason why that process was suspended.
In a country without precise data protection regulations and without the rule of law, anything can be expected in favor of those who govern, such as, for example, due to this bad step of the CNP, handing over to the CNE by the decision of a court, all the technical aspects for the election of the primaries.
The suggestion of the former vice-president of the CNP, María Carolina Uzcátegui could be echoed by the regime: "Uzcátegui suggested the CNP to ask for technical assistance to the new CNE, presided by the former Comptroller General Elvis Amoroso..." (see in Spanish, La Gran Aldea, La alerta es Uzcátegui, in https://tw.lagranaldea.com/2023/09/07/la-alerta-es-uzcategui/). The same insinuated the former CNE Rector, Vicente Diaz: "I would not dare to say if the CNP rushed or not with the technical assistance, but it is also true that the CNP tried through several communications to ask the CNE for this assistance; also, it made an effort to lengthen its own times to have a timely response from the CNE".... "Now, if that means that it is impossible and it is a decision taken, or it can be changed, I do not know because this could change if both reach an agreement, because the times needed to make a self-managed election are much longer than an election that has the technical assistance of the CNE." (see in Spanish, Ex Rector Vicente Díaz explica por qué se usa el Registro Electoral para las elecciones primarias, in https://maduradas.com/exrector-vicente-diaz-explica-se-usa-registro-electoral-las-elecciones-primarias/). As the saying goes, there's no worse wedge than the one with the same wood...
The truth is that these primaries are now in the hands of the regime's justice. They always were for any arbitrariness that could have occurred to them, but now they do not need it. They have the perfect excuse -given by the opposition itself- to take control and put their hands on the system to decide the opposition candidate. I will say no more, you can draw your own conclusions...
Caracas, September 11, 2023
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TIC’s & Derechos Humanos,
Email: luismanuel.aguana@gmail.com
Twitter:@laguana
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