CARACAS – Holding political office in the current context of Venezuela is a “risk” that many opposition parliamentarians are still willing to face. They recognize that “it is not an easy task”, but by virtue of the decision to continue on the thorny path, they are also clear that they must do so with “conviction and commitment”.
How do women face the challenge of exercising politics in a country like Venezuela?
To inquire about the Voice of america He interviewed three opposition parliamentarians, who agree that the greatest challenge and concern of being a politician in the current circumstances is to keep their families “protected”.
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Karim Vera is a member of parliament for the state of Táchira, in the southwest of the country, bordering Colombia and one of the areas hardest hit by the crisis that Venezuela is going through. Just at the scheduled time for the interview, as usual for several months, he was without electricity. Phone in hand, he spoke with the VOA as I searched the street for a better sign.
But it does not succeed, the image freezes, so we appeal to an alternative that allows the interview to materialize. We send the questions that the deputy answers one by one through WhatsApp voice notes, the only way to avoid obstacles in the conversation either by video or phone call.
“The most difficult thing at the moment as a parliamentarian and my role as a politician is the protection and security of my family, of my two daughters. Making politics is a risk for us, but in the midst of the dictatorship, the family also runs the risk and for me it is the most complicated. Try to do good, which as a deputy corresponds to me and try not to put them at risk, “says Vera.
The parliamentarian who chairs the Border Commission of the National Assembly (AN), stresses that the disputed government has “armed groups of civilians” that permanently “stalk” and “threaten”.
In addition, he explains, the situation raised by COVID-19 further complicates the picture. The legislator reports that she must resort to virtual tools to be able to carry out her work, including participating in parliamentary sessions and holding working meetings with the rest of the members of the committees of which she is a part.
“This is also contradicted by the serious electricity problem that exists in the country, mainly in the Táchira state in which I live, where at least we have power cuts for 12 hours,” he maintains.
Despite the circumstances and difficulties related to connectivity, Vera insists that they put all the “effort” and “commitment” to stay connected with the people and “try to meet” in Parliament the most immediate needs of Venezuelans, with the limitations resulting from social isolation measures.
But in addition, satisfactorily carrying out the role of professional woman and the role of mother, of “head of the family” in order to fulfill her parliamentary duties in Caracas is a challenge for Karim Vera.
“Fortunately, I have the support of my dad and my mom, who are the ones who stay with my daughters when I am in Caracas. And beyond that because it is to return to Táchira and carry out the work with the communities, contact with citizens that is not only limited to legislating in Caracas, ”he comments.
The deputy says that despite receiving “a lot of support” from her daughters, they sometimes “complain” when she is not there. However, she tries to pay “the greatest possible attention” to her adolescent daughter and when school activities allow it, she accompanies her on the tours she takes in the entity.
“It does not mean that with the 10-year-old girl she does not do it, but as it is a delicate stage in her growth process, I try to give her the most attention, the corresponding tools, and to talk a lot. I try to cope with both activities understanding that the most important thing for me is their growth and development and that is why I carry out political activity, to provide a future full of progress and development. To remove Venezuela, so that it offers them those opportunities that they deserve ”, details Vera.
The opposition parliamentarian highlights the role that women have played in politics in recent years, as well as the perseverance in the “fight for freedom”, however, she recognizes that much remains to be done to “give women the fundamental and egalitarian role in Venezuelan politics ”.
“We have been betting on establishing conditions for equal participation in all sectors of Venezuelan society to allow Venezuelan women to be in the place they should be, not only professionally, personally, but also politically,” she says.
“Thrilling”
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Two hours before participating in a virtual session of parliament, deputy María Gabriela Hernández spoke with VOA from his home in Monagas, eastern Venezuela, a state he represents in the AN.
Some communication failures arise due to connection, but in this case the call flows. He affirms that being a politician in the country is “exciting” and insists that keeping the family and integrity protected, amid “so many threats”, is one of the greatest challenges.
“It carries more responsibility than it could have in times of democracy, more responsibility with what is written to protect the family. We seek to take care of every word even though sometimes we cannot contain it, ”says the parliamentarian, constitutional lawyer, wife and mother of three women.
For Hernández, for more than 20 years, he was “composing an important hate speech and that has fallen on fertile ground” for what he considers to be “the responsibility of a policy not to fall further into that field.”
“At a time when we have to overcome a complete destruction of the democratic institutions and the country, we are facing a system that is criminal, which is not at all in harmony with life, with human rights and we must try to change it . Doing both at the same time, having a discourse that does not pay hatred and one that will overcome the current situation of democratic deinstitutionalization is a challenge, “he adds.
Hernández states that his projection of life did not contemplate doing politics, since he was trained to participate in family projects, but there was a moment when he saw “how the rule of law fell apart” and began to participate in social aspects, always with the support of his family and his Christian values.
Coordinating his work with family life has been “quite bearable”. Her weekly trips to Caracas do not take her away from the family, on the contrary, it allows her to share with two of her daughters who are attending university in the Venezuelan capital.
“They were never selfish because they knew that when I was away I was helping others and that now makes them (their daughters) happy and proud,” recalls the president of the AN Commission on Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change.
Asked whether it is worth continuing to risk in the midst of this complex moment in Venezuela, the legislator does not hesitate to answer: “Yes.”
“I think that everything that involves work, effort, sacrifice for freedom and for life is worth it and that is what we Venezuelans are playing today. It is worth leaving a message, leaving a mark to preserve both life and freedom, “he stresses.
“Everything I do, I do for my family”
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The power outages in the Portuguese state, southwest of Caracas, complicate the possibility of coordinating the conversation with the legislator María Beatriz Martínez, but once the video call has been achieved, it exposes how difficult it is to put into words the daily life of the Venezuelan woman .
“What we Venezuelans are experiencing is really a humiliation of human dignity in all aspects. In any part of the world, no one has the difficulty of having fuel, water, electricity, telephone or internet. As for politics, women require a plus, we have to give more, demonstrate more, “says the deputy born in Guanare, capital of the entity she represents.
It also describes how she has been persecuted by the government in dispute because for several years she was the only opposition deputy for the Portuguese state, until the beginning of this year when a deputy deserted from the ranks of Chavismo to join the opposition.
“He put me, he puts me, always in the eye of the hurricane, threats to my family, threats at home, constant persecution of the police forces, a series of situations that have been quite exhausting,” stresses the MP, also a lawyer.
On several occasions, legislators from different regions have denounced impediments to traveling by plane or staying at some hotels when they must stay in Caracas for work.
Consulted on the matter, it details how the legislators have suffered numerous “limitations of all kinds”. Many, like her, have to travel hundreds of kilometers without company, “exposed” to insecurity.
As for managing to coordinate work life with family life, the deputy admits that it is “complicated”, but at the same time maintains that it is her “source of inspiration”.
“Everything I do, I do it for my family, for the right that my children have to live in their country, for the right that my children have to develop in Venezuela and that inspires me to fight against this monster. In my case I have had a very decisive family support, without the family supporting one it is practically impossible ”, highlights the mother of two young people.
According to the parliamentarian, COVID-19 has been used as “a mechanism for greater social control” and, she believes that to avoid protests due to fuel shortages, “the quarantine measure was initiated at the ‘wrong time’ in the sense that in Venezuela the epidemic came “late”.
He considers that this is the moment of the “real danger of the virus spreading” and is concerned that just when “relaxation” begins is when cases begin.
“Our job as a parliamentarian at this time is to make all this that is happening visible, reflect the serious situation that is being experienced in Venezuela,” says Martínez.
For the legislator, in political matters, women have been “the great spearhead” and have been the ones who have carried out the search for solutions and alternatives.
“Why formally there is almost no participation of women in politics? I think it is an issue that needs to be culturally reinforced. I feel that there are many women with many capacities, with much to give, who could be playing a great role in any area of Venezuela, “she concludes.
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