The former President of the Republic, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, will participate as an international observer in a plebiscite this Sunday in Venezuela, whose purpose is for citizens to vote for the future of the country.
Rodríguez will travel on Friday with Laura Chinchilla to Colombia, where they will meet with Andrés Pastrana from Colombia, Jorge Quiroga from Bolivia, and Vicente Fox from Mexico, all members of the group Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas (IDEA). Then they will go to Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.
The former president explained that the government of Nicolás Maduro, with the support of the public powers he controls, is calling to elect a Constituent Assembly on Julty 30th.
This, he said, would integrate with total disrespect to the democratic principles of open participation to all citizens and decision by majority rule of voters.
That would be the consecration of his dictatorial government. That is why the Venezuelan National Assembly has called for a referendum on July 16th, so that the sovereign people may decide on whether or not to accept this anti-democratic Constituent Assembly,”
said Rodríguez.
The former ruler, along with members of IDEA, will meet with Venezuelan politicians and Catholic Church, as well as with the relatives of the 94 victims of the repression that has occurred during the last 100 days.
The group does not rule out the possibility of having a meeting with the President of the Republic and other authorities.
Freedom and dignity, respect for human rights, due process, democracy and the rule of law led me to promote the adoption of the democratic clause at the Summits of America in Quebec City and the Inter-American Democratic Charter in the OAS, both in 2001,”
recalled Rodríguez.
He added that for these reasons and for having served as Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), he has been a member of IDEA since the beginning and was one of the six Latin American former presidents who -invited by the opposition- participated as observers in the parliamentary elections of Venezuela on December 6th, 2015.
The presence of international observers next Sunday is essential to try to prevent new and more serious violations against human rights by Maduro’s regime, whose repressive and collective forces have already killed more than 94 young people, wounded thousands, jailed and illegally subjected hundreds of civilians to military tribunals in 104 days of peaceful demonstrations,”
concluded the former head of state.