In the picture: Walter Marquez in an act of political expression
By: Italo Violo
In the War of Independence
The political participation of people with disabilities in Venezuela is not new. This has been around since its birth. In the war of independence involved people with disabilities although the term was not used for the time. He left many amputees who, in one way or another, they continued in the struggle.
Paez disability
The most famous of these was General Jose Antonio Paez Herrera, the most prominent hero of Venezuela after Simon Bolivar. Paez suffered from epilepsy. Often the stress of battle made him fall unconscious from his horse and he had to be assisted by his warriors. Still, Paez was recognized as the best lancer of the world because he was able to injure or kill up to 40 enemies in a single fight without suffering any scratch. We all know about his victories and his later participation in the consolidation of the Republic that led him to be three times president of Venezuela.
El Mocho Hernández
The nineteenth century bloody left a trail of dead but also of men with amputees members, one of them was the leader, political and military Jose Manuel Hernandez (named “The Mocho Hernandez") who lost the phalanges of the fingers of his right hand in a battle. He was minister, a member of the Governing Council and he aspired to the presidency of the Republic.
Rhona Ottolina
In more recent times we can remember to Rhona Ottolina, who has quadriplegia and who was deputy to Congress of Venezuela between 1988 and 1993 for Formula 1, party she founded. Also she was Alderman an Presidential Commissioner. She once was chained herself to request certain political right.
Walter Marquez
We have another famous political worker with disability in Venezuela, the historian and parliamentarian Walter Marquez, born in Tachira State. He is a brilliant man, author of several books, who has acted as a diplomat and human rights activist. Deputy Marquez has been concerned about the issue of disability, we know because we have received correspondence from him but this is not the center of their political activity or defense of human rights.
All these exercised outside any legal framework to protect them as persons with disabilities. Their deficiencies do not formed or form the backbone of the struggle of a group with disabilities, their struggle was or has been in the purely political framework and, of course, in the social context, but just as you would any Venezuelan.
Why the reason for this?
Although the participation of people with disabilities in society has always been it has been very limited, it was limited to certain people for their efforts and bravery, plus certain circumstances, they managed to excel.
Progress on the rights of persons with disabilities is a relatively new event that has gained momentum only in the last two decades. If we made a list of laws for people with disabilities in different countries hardly we find one that has more than 30 years.
The "Declaration of Rights of Persons with Mental Retardation" generated by the UN of the year 1971. The "Law of Social Integration of the Disabled" (LISMI) Spanish born in 1982. The "Act Americans with Disabilities Act" (ADA) is newer still, as it was signed by President George Bush in 1990. Panama presents the "Law 42 "in 1999 and Colombia, from the 90's of the twentieth century generates a series of articles and decrees in favor of the inclusion of people with disabilities.
The first "Law for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities" of Venezuela came into effect from 19 January 1994. It is to be noted that this law in its 36 articles did not include political rights to people with disabilities.
Venezuela in the last decade has seen the rise of people with disabilities as a group that recognizes itself as an object of law. This has increased their participation in all areas, including the political. Not only as individuals but in clusters.
The legality of political participation in Venezuela
The Constitution and laws give us rights, including political participation guaranteed in Article 51 of the new "Law for People with Disabilities" 2007:
"People with disabilities have the right to political participation. The State, through the use of technological advances and facilitation, ensure that procedures, facilities and materials for the exercise of the right to vote by persons with disabilities are appropriate, accessible and easy to understand and use in pursuit of their maximum possible independence to cast their vote in secret and without intimidation in elections and referenda. Similarly, they are entitled to stand as candidates or candidates in elections, hold office and perform all public functions, without prejudice to the requirements of other laws on the subject. "
Practice and current problems
In practice, this participation has been tapped by the government of a very actively involving people with disabilities in policy-making as a way of thanking the aid is given. Although the practice of buying intentions by giving away wheelchairs, canes, crutches or other medical equipment is common among politicians who aspire to elected office, became widespread from the government and tool control and manipulation was done.
Although no conditions belong to the ruling party to receive technical aids if the recipient people does not show their solidarity with the political project is humiliated and detested for their bad thanks. That spirit is evident by the statement of Nueva Esparta state governor Mata Figueroa on the occasion of pots and pans that received the President of the Republic during his visit to the island of Margarita in September 2016:
"No food will be sold on that site (Villa Rosa) until not clarify everything, because food is a right, but a first duty is to thanks to the revolution."
For 2009-2010 the PSUV took the lead and gave the nod to the creation of the Socialist Front of People with Disabilities (FESUPDIS), which in the beginning seemed to assume a homogenization of thought of all persons with disabilities and automatic solidarity with this political front.
Also, from the beginning, it has been tried, with some success, to create the matrix that the inclusion of people with disabilities in Venezuela is unprecedented in the world and we are more advanced than other nations.
The lack of an accurate implementation of policies that truly serve to dignify people with disabilities, plus it has avoided that everything is interconnected has created much discontent. They ignore that the deterioration in the quality of life experienced by the Venezuelan impacts most heavily on the disabled and their families.
Results and expectations
This has given to rise various movements of people with disabilities who, while acknowledging the progress made under President Hugo Chavez, are unhappy with the current management and others who do not agree with the current system of government. This begins to balance wills in the political diversity of the Venezuelans disabled.
This 2016, has been notorious a travel of 450 kilometers from Barquisimeto to Caracas city made by Pascual Farnataro. He did it in his wheelchair. Farnataro is a person with quadriplegia. His intention was to support the recall on September 1 to a referendum against President Nicolas Maduro. Accompanied by other persons with disabilities is a sign of political diversity in the Venezuelan population with disabilities.
Some people with disability had occurred the idea to creating a movement or political party of people with disabilities. Although this could be achieved, we believe that the most practical and effective is that people with disabilities and with political concerns, without losing awareness of belonging to a group that should support and defend, join different political currents and from there move up allowing them to be genuine representatives of this social group and defend their rights.
In the picture: Pascual Farnataro and other people with disabilities during his act of civic demonstration on the occasion of his journey of 450 kms. to Caracas.
Read in Spanish:
Sources:
Law for People with Disabilities 2007
http://labs.fbacks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Biograf%C3%ADa-WALTER-MARQUEZ.pdf
https://www.facebook.com/luzparavenezuela
http://www.upc.edu/ude/particulares/informacion/informacion-generica-sobre-discapacidad/la-ley-de-integracion-social-de-los-minusvalidos-lismi
http://infovzla.net/nacionales/miserable-el-gobernador-del-estado-nueva-esparta-ordena-suspender-entrega-de-los-clap-en-villa-rosa/
