We will be watching you, NCA

The country is rapidly approaching the moment when the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) must get down to business. The fact that Venezuela should begin the new millennium with a brand new constitution fills me both with enthusiasm and fear. The results arising from the NCA could either be wonderful or an absolute fiasco. A lot will depend on the way our civil society participates in the process.

Even though the formal responsibility of the NCA lies with the 131 elected members, I feel this does not diminish the responsibility or duty all of us as citizens have of trying to positively influence the process. Those who for some reason do not wish to be elected, or those that are up for election but realistically do not expect to be one of the chosen few, that is to say all but the 131 members finally elected, should begin to plot our strategy without delay. The following are my thoughts about the matter.

The assembly must take into account the country as a whole while undertaking its duties. Even though I do not believe we should televise the entire proceedings, something like Mr. Simpson’s trial in the United States, I do believe we must under no uncertain circumstances maintain records of all the proposals presented as well as of all the debates. Above all, we should register, with names included, the votes cast by the assembly’s members.

With this data in hand, society should organize its system of evaluation in order to publicly congratulate those members who have honestly and successfully complied with their duties and publicly chastise, with means that will be registered in the annals of history, those that do not. In this sense, it is important to develop a reasonable method of evaluation, which should, of course, take into consideration that not all of the assembly’s functions are the same and that not all must be complied with by all of its members.

Included in the members’ duties that must be evaluated are the following four. The number I have put in parenthesis are simply for the purpose of presenting examples of how many of the 131 members could be dedicated to a particular task.

  1. The generation of coherent political visions that would give the assembly a real meaning (5)

  2. Continual interaction with the civil society in order to insure that the latter’s proposals and desires are coherently included in the final output (20)

  3. The study, analysis and brainstorming of each specific article in order to insure that the final product is coherent (101)

 4. The final coherent write-up of the new document so that Venezuela can show the world with pride that it has produced a real Constitution for the next millennium (5)

Evidently my use of the word “coherent” in all four of these activities, makes it evident that this is extremely important for me. Some of my other colleagues in the NGO that must necessarily be formed and that could be called “Watch the NCA” will undoubtedly include other parameters. This should permit us to create a ranking which although not perfect should at least allow us to identify the names of 10 of the members who’s performance was outstanding and 10 who’s performance were disgraceful. 

This does not necessarily have anything to do with the intellectual and curricular capacity of each of these members. Those members who were given the right to occupy one of the 131 seats on the assembly on the basis of their ample and well documented legal know-how could conceivably receive a much lower ranking than a mother that has come out of her household to be present in dignified representation of her compatriots and by just honestly and correctly choosing among the options presented to her.

I have heard that there are candidates out there that are members of unions and other representative groups who’s only stated purpose is to insure the continuation of the prerogatives they figure come with their professional investitures. Evidently, should these people be elected to the assembly, they would be prime candidates to occupy the last places in the ranking, both to their own detriment as well as to that of the groups they represent.

Another member of the assembly that would insure a place at the bottom of the list is the one that insists on including constitutional guarantees for each and every right that he or she can think of without worrying about how they will be complied with. 

I am the first to acknowledge that the Constituent Assembly is a national act of much more importance and intimacy than that of a simple election and I would therefore not be inclined to formally invite external observers. However, the ONG would have the right to look for advice, wherever this may come from, in order to fulfill its duty and be vigilant during the process. I am sure that entities such as the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) and Transparency International, among others, could give us support and good advice.

For decades, our society has been demeaned due to the lack of social sanctions. We cannot run this risk with the NCA. Our ranking should be a part of the tools to be used to stimulate and punish.