Published at: 17/07/2024 09:00 PM

(Latest News, July 19, 1963)

• The general elections of 1963 were called to renew all the authorities of the public powers: Presidency of the Republic, National Congress (47 senators and 174 deputies), State Legislative Assemblies and Municipal Councils.
• The total indigenous population in Venezuela reached 215,540 registered original inhabitants, of whom 143,639 were adults with the right to vote.
• Following the criteria of the highest electoral authority in the then Delta Amacuro Federal Territory, the Electoral Councils denied the indigenous population the right to register to participate in free elections and to exercise the right to universal, direct and secret suffrage. The ultimate expression of a truly democratic system.
• The reasons given:
• “They lack identification and ability to choose. They have a childish mentality.”
• The president of the Electoral Board said: “They will not be registered.”
• “The mental age of Indians does not match their chronological age and therefore they lack the capacity to vote.”
• The psychological age of the Indian is well below his biological age. They have not developed in the same proportion, the former looking very elementary, and can be compared to that of a child of very young age and, therefore, lacking discernment, an indispensable condition for fully exercising the requirements implicit in the electoral process.”
• “Besides, they don't have an identification card,” he added.
• This was ratified by the Supreme Electoral Council for the entire country, in a newsletter, in application of article 54 of the current Electoral Law, on “identification and ability to vote”.
• Thus, the electoral boards of other states and territories took advantage of these principles to deny the right to suffrage enshrined in the National Constitution of 1961 to 143,639 people.
• Rómulo Betancourt , by then, had outlawed the Communist Party of Venezuela, which had 903,479 registered members; he also did so with the MIR and part of the revolutionary wing of the URD.

Mazo News Team