Luis Ugalde and the political pacts
By: Luis Beltrán Guerra G. - 07/04/2024
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This writer published some time ago an article titled “Ugalde Asambleísta” (El Universal, Caracas, December 17, 2016), in order to highlight the commitment assumed towards Venezuela by the Jesuit Rector of the Catholic University Andrés Bello (1990-2010 ), Individual of Number of the Academy of Political and Social Sciences and National Journalism Award (1977). The namesake, for Venezuelans, has therefore been much more than “the religious mediator between God and man and at the immediate service of the deity.” He has far exceeded the Royal Spanish Academy's own definition of “a man ordained to celebrate the sacrifice of the mass and carry out other tasks of the pastoral ministry.” Evidence, a few, the most read “Luis María Ugalde Olalde is a Venezuelan Jesuit theologian and historian born in Spain.”
It is, perhaps, this last qualification, among others, as important as it, that in our opinion most identifies Don Luis with one of his latest essays, which he called “The political transition we need” (March 2023) and which lead this commentator to propose one more step in the objective description that we attempted in the aforementioned essay “Ugalde, assemblyman”, experiencing the duty of writing on this occasion “Ugalde, President”. There is no Venezuelan, in our opinion, extremely modest, who would hardly express his disagreement with our assessment. Nor do you doubt that we would be quite ungrateful. The modesty of Ugalde, who of course knows that “ingratitude is the daughter of pride and a mortal sin”, would surely pray in favor of the violators of God's Law, but would continue fighting for Venezuela, converted over decades into his first homeland.
Luis would justify the slogan, “I am going to the end,” and much more so when it comes to a united Venezuela that shouts it, convinced, as he has written: 1. “Great political transitions produce changes based on radical confrontations between the regime.” reigning reality and the nascent reality, 2. Examples, such as Poland, Spain and Chile, which went from dictatorship to democracy, show that at the beginning no peaceful change seemed possible, 3. But seen in perspective, the one inspired by the “miracle” of an evolution in which the persecuted and persecutors of yesterday coexist and collaborate, 4. They discover that both are not only tolerable, but are necessary for the alternative.” Reading, like neophytes, the egregious representative of God, we wonder if it would be a pact for “a government of national integration” without the persecuted or the persecutors, that is, “THE INDISPENSABLE CONCERTATION, which would demand: 1. A call to understanding of the political parties and groups, to advance “a government of national integration”, a path to put an end to the differences between Venezuelans and achieve the unity that is so demanded, 2. The electoral process in accordance with the Constitution and the laws, as well as as well as the democratic guidelines that must govern it, which corresponds to the Government itself, as well as the National Electoral Council and other public organizations, as well as the candidates and their parties, 3. A recognition of the citizen feat carried out by María Corina Machado and his followers and the invitation to join with his teams in the struggle that will be carried out for a modern democracy and the formation of the integration government, 4. In the same sense, the leaders of the parties and other political organizations would be summoned, since The union will be decisive for a joint strategy so that we achieve a path of hope, dignity and respect in productive activities, for the benefit of the Nation and those of us who make it up, 5. An economic program based on the rules of the market, under a adequate coordination by the State, in accordance with respect, observance and validity of the canons related to free competition, in pursuit of the true Social State of Law, as dictated by the current Constitution, 6. The invitation to the citizen President of the Republic , to the National Assembly, to the Supreme Court of Justice and other public powers, as well as to all political parties and other organizations, regarding respect, observance and compliance with the rule of law, for the sake of understanding among Venezuelans, as well as the recognition of the nations that make up the international community, 7. Message to the National Armed Forces of compliance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic and its full incorporation into the transition process to a true democracy, 8.The definition of the guidelines according to which a transitional justice process would be carried out with full guarantees of due process. There will be no persecuted or persecutors, but there will be observance of the Law and a guarantee of reparation and non-repetition, 9. The proposal to call an objective electoral process for the renewal of the President and other popularly elected positions, which would take place at the end of the second year of the constitutional six-year term and10. Understand that it would be a broad and plural call aimed at materializing the democratic and social State of Law and Justice, in accordance with the superior values relevant to life, freedom, justice, equality, solidarity, democracy, social responsibility, the preeminence of human rights, ethics and political pluralism. The Republic, without a doubt, would gain a lot regarding adherence to a Magna Carta prepared and promulgated by President Hugo Chávez, in whose speeches he expressed that the methodology for the consolidation of Venezuela as an important nation had been achieved, both in the national context , as international. Or suddenly return to the Magna Carta of 1961, whose libertarian character is undeniable.
The process that began on February 2, 1999, with the assumption of the government by the colonel, did not and has not ceased to be a shock to the “status quo” of a democracy, also constitutional, established in January 1961. , which presented manifestations of decay, a scenario that was attempted to be overcome with a “political Tsunami”, whose consequences surprised many, including the masses who voted for the commander. Today, 25 years later, the degree of irritability, that is, as we read, “one of the fundamental properties of living beings that induces them to identify unfavorable changes and react to them,” has generated disunity among Venezuelans. We look at each other and what emerges are expressions close to discontent and even more calamitous environments. We are sure that Luis Ugalde, a Catholic priest and well-versed in philosophy, must be concerned and rightly so, since he knows that “irritability” is part of the mechanisms to achieve a balance that helps them adapt to such sudden changes. To the extent that there are those who affirm that Bolívar's homeland is strongly affected by public opinion divided into two extremes, but also within the political parties. In the opinion of a few, “a seriously ill society.” And the disease is about to leave us aside and with very few exceptions.
It is for the reasons stated that Luis Ugalde's position, in addition to being brave, is very timely, since it contemplates a path to understand ourselves without the dagger of a superior and strange being, who, brandishing the force, guides us, not to the spheres of our benefit. , but from third parties located in the corners to take advantage of the consequences and cover themselves, as history reveals, with the obtuse tunic of the “necessary gendarme” who guides the country for their own benefit, with crumbs to the socially excluded and the most significant part of the loot to the coffers of the tops. The old history of Venezuelan events cannot be repeated and only an agreement like the one proposed by the Venezuelan for ius solis and the Spanish for sanguinis, will lead us to another path, that of freedom and progress.
Implicit in the political regimes is the mandate that the Magna Carta is mandatory, so ignoring them if it is not a crime is reprehensible behavior, particularly for those who govern and those who have made politics their art, profession and trade. , but they are not lucky enough to command. Opponents, essential in democracy.
The justification of the “political pact” proposed by Luis Ugalde is a call to read the Magna Carta, in order to examine how we have complied with it and correct its transgressions if that has been the case. For this it would be enough for the government and opposition together or each on their own to focus on the Preamble of November 17, 1999: 1. Establish a democratic, participatory and leading, multiethnic and pluricultural society in a State of justice, federal and decentralized, 2. Consolidate the values of freedom, independence, peace, solidarity, the common good, territorial integrity, coexistence and the rule of law, 3. Ensure the right to life, work, culture , to education, social justice and equality without discrimination or subordination, 4. Peaceful cooperation between nations and Latin American integration and 5. The universal and indivisible guarantee of human rights, the democratization of international society, nuclear disarmament, ecological balance and environmental legal rights as common and inalienable heritage. The Text then typifies Venezuela as a democratic and social State of Law and Justice, which advocates as superior values of its legal system and its actions, life, freedom, justice, equality, solidarity, democracy , social responsibility and, in general, the preeminence of human rights, ethics and political pluralism. The State's essential purposes are the defense and development of the person and respect for their dignity, the democratic exercise of the popular will, the construction of a just and peace-loving society, the promotion of the prosperity and well-being of the people. and the guarantee of compliance with the principles, rights and duties recognized and enshrined in this Constitution. Education and work are the fundamental processes to achieve these goals. Sovereignty resides in the people, who must be listened to, not only through the vote, but also through their claims. The observance or not of the desires of the constituent will end up defining the typology of governments, the most common duality being that of democratic and dictatorial.
A democracy without citizen acquisition will succumb. And to prevent this from happening, political agreements, although they are certainly not a panacea, humanity itself reveals that they have been efficient mechanisms for true democratization. Regarding Venezuela, the Punto Fijo and Broad Base pacts were defining mechanisms of the regime of freedoms established in the Constitutional Text of 1961.
In the scenario of tension that we are experiencing, Luis Ugalde's proposal must be well received.
Comments welcome.
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