The president of the Special Commission for Consultation on the Project of Amnesty Law for Democratic Coexistence, parliamentarian Jorge Arreaza, gave an overview of the national consultation and discussion of the bill, highlighting the deployment made throughout the country, where meetings were held with various sectors of the country’s social and political life. This was made with the goal of gathering proposals to be considered for the second reading of the bill.
He thanked the members of the commission for their participation and the work done, and reported that have been received over 2,700 written contributions, and assured that contributions to the Amnesty Law are still coming.
Arreaza referenced the stories of the victims of the «guarimbas» (riots) of 2014 and 2017, especially the case of the mother of Orlando Figuera, who was burned alive «for looking like a Chavista» during the events of 2017.
He highlighted that assemblies were held in all 25 states of the country, and added that magistrate Tania D’Amelio informed him that justices of the peace were motivated to develop consultation processes in 2,266 communes, with the participation of more than 25,000 neighboring men and women.
For her part, Deputy Nora Bracho, a member of the “Libertad” parliamentary group and vice president of the Special Commission for Consultation on the Project of Amnesty Law for Democratic Coexistence, who is in charge of drafting the report on the national consultation of the project of the norm, emphasized that «reconciliation does not mean to erase history, it is not surrendering to the conflict, but to overcome it.»
He insisted that Venezuela can correct and build agreements that transcend despite the differences: “We do not intend to minimize the pain of the victims, but rather take a step toward to the recognition of that there were fractures and that the State must guarantee the security of Venezuelans. (…) This law can be a starting point for a different stage, where democratic coexistence will be the defining characteristic, as well as respect for the Constitution, where no one feels fear for thinking differently. The Amnesty Law can be an important step, and we ratify that we bet on the meeting of the country,” he stated.
Following, he thanked everyone for their contributions to this law: “Today we support the majority of these initial articles, betting on a better future for Venezuelans and so that a new era of respect for dissent may open.”