Venezuelan activist and indigenous leader Noelí Pocaterra (in the middle), accompanied by four voters on the day of the Essequibo referendum on December 3, 2023. Photo: X/@Noeli_Pocaterra
Geraldina Colotti interviewed Venezuelan indigenous rights activist and political leader Noelí Pocaterra Uliana about the views of the Venezuelan indigenous peoples regarding Venezuela’s defense of the Essequibo territory.
Noelí Pocaterra, a leader of the Wayuu indigenous people, is an elected deputy of the National Assembly of Venezuela for the third term. She was a member of the Constituent Assembly of 1999 and the National Constituent Assembly of 2017. She is vice-president of the Amazonian Parliament, president of the Family Sub-Commission in the Indigenous Parliament of America, and a member of the Permanent Commission of Indigenous Peoples of the National Assembly of Venezuela. Journalist Geraldina Colotti met with her after the Venezuelan National Assembly approved on first discussion the draft Organic Law for the Defense of Guayana Esequiba, which resulted from the December 3 consultative referendum on the Essequibo.
As an indigenous leader, what do you think of this law?
I am happy with the decision taken in the parliament. By approving on first discussion the draft Organic Law for the Defense of Guayana Esequiba, we are complying with the will of the people, which was clearly expressed in the referendum of December 3, and that of President Maduro who established the steps to comply with it. In Guayana Esequiba, there are 10 indigenous peoples, and we are defending their rights. We are working to create a special commission, presided by the Minister of Indigenous Peoples Clara Vidal, and integrated by representatives of the various indigenous populations [of Venezuela]. We will go to the territories where they live to know about their needs, their problems, and their aspirations; to fight together, but at the same time telling them: you are the ones who make the decisions. You must be consulted to know what you want from this new state that we are going to establish. For the indigenous peoples, the land is their common home, for us it is fundamental. We love the territory of Guayana Esequiba, to take it away would be like cutting off an arm of Venezuela, that is why we cannot allow it. We will listen to all voices, but the indigenous peoples will be at the forefront.
You are the historical memory of the long road traveled by the indigenous peoples with the Bolivarian Revolution from the Constituent Assembly of 1999 to that of 2017, which returned peace to the country. Now that the president has again appealed to the real power, the people’s power, how do you imagine the subsequent stages?
Special laws can be derived from this organic law, which will encompass part of the decision adopted and the suggestions made by the president of the republic. We are thinking of a special law that will be about the indigenous peoples of Guayana Esequiba, that will recognize them within the state of Guayana Esequiba as part of a multiethnic, plurinational country. And then we are thinking of a law that will be about the defense of the environment, of the Essequibo as a protected area for biodiversity. The indigenous peoples are very united in the defense of the environment, of nature, which according to our cosmovision is part of our life, due to which we call ourselves brothers and sisters. In the case of the Wayuu people, we were created by our Mother Earth and by the rain, which is our Father. I hope that soon there will be the conditions to go to Guayana Esequiba to embrace my indigenous brothers and sisters, and to transmit to them the necessary energy to say: we must fight together so that our rights are recognized and so that you can have a better life.
Venezuela: National Assembly Approves Essequibo Defense Law in 1st Discussion
During the referendum, images of indigenous peoples lining up to vote had a strong impact, in the midst of the propaganda of the extreme right that aimed at minimizing the scope of the people’s will. How did this result come about?
Yes, the participation was massive. I was in the indigenous campaign command, created and presided by Minister Clara Vidal with whom we designed the electoral strategy. The indigenous peoples participated with all their decorations and their traditions and ancestral ceremonies, and that attracted a lot of attention, and this will happen again in the next elections. We also explained in detail what a zone under reclamation means, and what is the historical and legal background that gives us the right to say that Essequibo is part of Venezuela. In this regard, President Maduro gave us a masterclass, we took notes, we translated them into the different indigenous languages. We did the same with the five questions of the referendum. We broadcast all this through radio programs, and that had a strong impact.
You lived through the process of registering and providing identification documents to indigenous people who had no legal existence. What will be done now to reach and register as citizens of the new state the indigenous people who live isolated in the Essequibo territory?
Yes, it was I who suggested to Chávez the creation of an indigenous identity card, and he accepted. This way we appear as Venezuelan citizens, obviously, but also with our indigenous identity. The Commander understood the need to fight against the racism and exclusion that we experienced since the colonial times until the triumph of the Bolivarian Revolution. With Chávez came the dawn. And I will always remember that Nicolás [Maduro] was a member of the Constituent Assembly [of 1999] and went through difficult moments with us, when it seemed that our hopes were going to be frustrated, and he said: ‘I am with the indigenous peoples’, and there were those who threatened to take him to the disciplinary courts, but he remained firm in his purpose. At that time, we were in conflict with the military: we did not understand that they were defending territorial integrity; they thought that we could be influenced by the NGOs and sell the territory. However, it was not us who surrendered the Guayana Esequiba nor the Guajira, which today is a department of Colombia and we are not going to revive that issue. However, and here I give you some news, during the last FILVEN [International Book Fair of Venezuela 2023] we asked the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, the Colombian ambassador, and the Colombian minister of culture, to restore the original indigenous names of some places, such as the La Teta hill, which the colonizers named like that because to them it resembled a teat.
In 1969, a woman led the indigenous revolt to claim Venezuelan citizenship in the Essequibo [Rupununi Uprising], which was repressed through bloodshed. What is the role of indigenous women in the new battle for the Essequibo?
As indigenous women we have always been part of this struggle. I am proud to belong to a matrilineal society in which, in the case of conflict, women have always had the last word in deciding whether to make war or peace, and women have always opted for peace. Unfortunately, the so-called civilization has introduced the vices of capitalist society and that is why our men have also become patriarchal. That is why we are fighting a battle for education, starting from childhood. I invite you to see my collection of handmade dolls that we use as pedagogical tools.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC
Geraldina Colotti
Geraldina Colotti was born in Ventimiglia and has lived in Paris for a long time. She served a 27-year sentence for her militancy in the Red Brigades. Colotti is a journalist and writer, an expert in Latin America, and in charge of the Italian edition of "Le Monde Diplomatique".
