Caracas, March 24 to 26, 1999
In the framework of this very significant event, on behalf of the Venezuelan people, I would like to express to our neighbor Paraguay how sorry we are that this Latin American country is experiencing such upheaval, and to convey our condolences on the death of Paraguay’s Vice-president. With all out heart, we pray that God and the institutions as well as the people of Paraguay will soon overcome this situation.
It would seem - as I mentioned to the President of the Venezuelan Supreme Court of Justice – that one of the signs of the times is conflict. History is in great measure also the history of conflicts. In these waning years of the XX Century, there have been all types of conflicts, many of them violent that bring with them pain, death and tragedy. I recall that there is a very profound expression in the Bible which says: The only road to peace is justice. From this viewpoint we can conclude that where there is no true justice, there will be no peace in the world. I believe this maxim profoundly
It is laudable and we need to acknowledge your efforts, honorable Presidents of Supreme Courts and Tribunals of the Latin American continent and from the Caribbean, – this is the second such summit besides the meetings of the technical follow-up group and support group – in following-up through these Summits on the fundamental problems affecting justice and, by extension, the peace of our peoples. In these two days in this Caracas of Bolívar, you will be dwelling on four of these problems and you will also deliberate, discuss, evaluate, prepare projects and make recommendations. Allow me, my international friends, in the name of our people and the country of Simón Bolívar – the Venezuelan people - from the depths of that suffering country that is fighting and again raising its flags in this struggle, to warmly welcome you with a deep feeling of brotherhood. Permit me also to say that I hope that these hours which you will be spending here will not be in vain, because there have been many summits in the world, some stormy, while others that have faded with the wind. In the forty-eight days that I have been in office, I attended the Summit of the Group of Fifteen hosted by our neighbor, Jamaica, where we conversed and analyzed the political, economic, and social situations of what we have come to call "the world of the South", as well as the proposals made by the "world of the north." I remember that in the speech I made on behalf of the Presidents of Latin American and Caribbean countries comprising the Group of Fifteen, I expressed a fervent hope that what would be discussed at that Summit in Montego Bay would not be carried away by the Caribbean wind. At this time, I express that same fervent hope that this Caracas Summit, this summit of justice and; therefore, this search for a lasting peace will not be swept away by the wind, but that the seeds that are sown will flourish into a new reality. I also hope that this summit will have that capacity --- and all of us here I am sure will be monitoring events to see the outcome – to produce results. Please bear in mind that we are all willing and able to contribute, to converse, to assist in the search for the roads to justice from which we are so far. These, I insist, are the routes to true peace, to true democracy, to human happiness. You, my brothers and sisters have come to Caracas at a very special moment, I maintain it is special because I firmly believe that there is a revolution underway in Venezuela. It is a profound revolution that is beginning with the ethical and moral aspects to continue on to a social revolution. It is a revolution that is shaking the foundations of the old regime that cannot hold on any longer and is collapsing, borne down by its own weight and undermined precisely by some of the vices that you will be analyzing over these next few days. One of those terrible vices is corruption, How deeply-rooted it is, what a cancer; a cancer that in Venezuela has penetrated to the very marrow of our bones and has dealt a mortal blow to the Republic and its institutions with the Republic. It destroyed institutions, dissolved the essence of democracy - it evaporated it. Our democracy in Venezuela lost its essence. It is true.
The Venezuelan case deserves to be studied because it is useful. Useful to avoid its ever happening again, neither here nor in any of your countries, your nations, your states or republics. The Venezuelan case should never be repeated. We Venezuelans are peaceful people. Indeed we are. We do not like violence. I believe nobody likes violence, unless he/she is rationally unbalanced. Not even those, as you know, who have used violence. I did for twelve hours. We do not want it. We detest it. But many times - history tells it - some violent acts frequently originate from actions of silent violence, which slither quietly like a snake, spreading death, hunger, desolation to the people. And, as ex president Rafael Caldera said - from whom I did not receive the presidential ribbon - but he said it that fourth day of February... and anyhow I have it. I want to make clear that I have the presidential ribbon. That fourth of February 1992, Dr. Caldera, with an historic aroma, said it: A hungry population cannot defend democracy. How difficult it is to ask a hungry nation to defend democracy.
I believe the question must be asked in more depth. I would go deeper, brothers and sisters. Does a population living in hunger lives in democracy? Does a population, 85% in poverty, living and dying in a territory full of oil, water, richness, by chance lives in democracy? Which democracy will it defend if it is starving? Which democracy?
In Venezuela, brothers and sisters, I believe - and let’s hope God wills and we are capable of making what is possible - I believe the time of democracy has arrived. Now I believe it. And we are in the process of regaining democracy, of reconstructing democracy. But, how difficult it is when there is a constituted power, part or great part of whose representatives, stubbornly, irrationally, reject the changes that a whole nation clamors. I hope that you, brothers and sisters, have time to walk along some street in Caracas or in Venezuela, of any village or city, and ask common people, those who are beyond these official centers; the taxi driver, the bus driver, the shoe polisher, the woman who walks with her children, those who are seeking housing, those who clamor for a piece of land, those who are looking for bread, or the students at the universities, or the professionals at their associations, or the military general headquarters. Ask a little. It could be - allow me with all respect to make a suggestion - part of a live follow-up, in the field. I am at your service to contribute, my dear friend President of the Court, if you think this could be a field-work; or I invite you to a jail. I invite you to Yare where I was a prisoner. I was there recently and I came out crying. I could not stand it, and I told Monseigneur Mario Moronta: "This is too much pain for a single heart."
The moment is very appropriate for you, President, to have convened - and that you have decided to meet in Caracas under this revolutionary context; a beautiful, pacific, democratic revolution is under way. And the polemic will be perceived: Constituent Assembly, people are clamoring, seeking pacific roads. A Constituent Assembly with originary power, as it should be. No Constituent Assembly with a straight jacket; the population doesn’t want a Constituent Assembly with a straight jacket, because it wouldn’t be a Constituent Assembly, it would be another trick, and we are not willing to continue playing tricks. The National Constituent Assembly cannot be subordinated to the established powers, otherwise it would not be a Constituent Assembly, it could be something else. The Venezuelan people will no longer tolerate tricks, I am sure; our obligation is to channel the Nation’s voice, as the great Honoré Mirabeau used to say.
To the Constituent power who wants to constitute itself again, and allow me to say dear friends, ladies and gentlemen Magistrates, that in this moment in Venezuela, I don’t see another way; to restore the institutions of a pulverized democracy, to lay the foundations of a New Republic because the one we have is lying on its death bed, to rebuild the Rule of Law, which has been hit one and a thousand times. For example, do you know my friends, I feel ashamed to say this, but it is true, and Christ died for the sake of truth: a very high percentage, around 60%, more or less, there are no exact numbers, very difficult, but around 60%, and this is a conservative number, of Venezuelan men and women who are, right this minute, in prison, approximately 60% are there waiting for a process that doesn’t go beyond their cell, this is your process, it’s like walking dead; unlike the agreement made by the Presidents at the Margarita Summit, Justice is not agile, it is not agile, it doesn’t reach men, common men and women, it only reaches those who can afford it, it gets there fast, there, Justice is really fast. Would that be justice? Would that be justice or would that be fraction of justice?
I am convinced that in order to rebuild the Rule of Law, and make justice cover with its benevolent blanket, all Venezuelans, without distinction, one has to transform the Republic, one has to make a Revolution, otherwise I believe it will be impossible, regardless of the amount of Summits we may have, Summits are a positive thing and may they be welcome, but we can have a thousand Summits, we can discuss matters endlessly, we can go out to the streets to censure the things we see and witness, but here, in Venezuela, as the poet would say, here and now, here and now, it is not possible, from my point of view, as Venezuelan, to achieve the restitution of the Rule of Law, unless we transform the undermined institutional framework, while at the same time making a political revolution, of course, and this is the outlining of the National Constituent Assembly, through a popular referendum, which would be an example of democratic cohabitation, a popular referendum, an Assembly directly and universally elected by the people, and Assembly that becomes installed and begins restructuring everything, because here, everything is undermined, and one of the objectives of the Constituent Assembly must be the restructuring of the Judiciary, the organization of the Judiciary and its capability for having real impact over the gargantuan situation of injustice we have today in Venezuela, who has reached explosive limits, I have been saying this sporadically somewhere else, and I am going to repeat it here.
As President of Venezuela I have received, this is how I feel it, a time bomb, and I have it in my hand, tic, tac, tic, tac, We are making gigantic efforts to deactivate the bomb. It is a social bomb, infinite poverty, painful and terrible, unjustified, the economy has been destroyed, society has been stripped off, and we still have people who want the President to use the Armed Forces to repress the people whose only claim is justice, housing, and a way of life.
I have forbidden, gentlemen Magistrates, as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, there will not be a single soldier out in the streets, as many would like it to be, and has been done many times before, when I was a soldier in uniform they also used to do it, they would send me out, and they sent us out with shotguns and sub-machine guns, to riddle down with bullets, a population filled with hunger, and there were thousands of casualties on February 27, 1989, ¡horror! While I am President of Venezuela, there will not be a single soldier coming out to repress a people who is only claiming for justice, who needs true leaders, who needs leadership, who needs dialogue, who needs to be heard, and , of course, have its problems solved. And this would be a good topic, may I suggest, for this matter of Human Rights, it would be a good example, I can send you all the information about the encroachments, some encroachers arrived in Venezuela, but they all are Venezuelans and they are asking me to use the Armed Forces. No, leadership is what is needed. The Armed Forces under my command are with the people in the street today, not to repress them but to join with them in a project called Bolivar 2000, to stimulate the restitution of the fundamental rights of a people: health, education, food, housing, immediate attention however great the need.
In addition to human rights, this is an appropriate time to discuss the problem of drugs and extending joint responsibility in this important area. Not only combating production but also trafficking and consumption because all this has a cycle, a sequence and a system of operation. Drug traffickers and poppies flourish among peasants who have no land, credit or work and who very often have no other source of life and income. Drugs flourish among the street children. In Venezuela there are almost one million of these children and our population is only 22 million. These boys and girls get into drugs and consumption. They are used by traffickers or they drug themselves with glue at night to endure hunger and cold, sleeping anywhere. I am sure you are going to analyze and are analyzing this problem. Your recommendations and contributions will be very timely, brothers of the world who have come to Caracas at the end of the century.
With these harsh reflections, which are only as harsh as our reality, I warmly welcome you on behalf of our people who, despite their troubles, are cheerful and optimistic, because they again have a reason for existing, a renewed purpose, the idea of a country, a democracy, a life. Once more, they have a justification for living, a reason for their struggles, and their pain.
We are a country under construction. Welcome, help us, we need your help, your contribution, your criticism. In this Venezuela where, despite so many difficulties, the institutions and constituted authorities are committed to making way for the constituent power and a new reality, committed to respecting the deepest values of democracy, freedom of expression, and human rights, which are essential for building a new nation.
We want to give an example of what is to come, of the building of a more just world. As our Liberator Simon Bolivar said: let us make justice triumph and freedom will triumph. Let God illuminate the minds, hearts and souls of all of you in this II Summit of Presidents of Supreme Courts and Tribunals of Ibero-America. Welcome to the land of Bolivar, which is also your land. Thank you all.
Ladies and gentlemen the opening ceremony has concluded.