In Venezuela, everything is ready for citizens to elect 15 thousand peace judges for the first time on December 15th. Our correspondent with the details.
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00:00We reported in Venezuela is holding a first-time election of judges of peace.
00:04And for this we are going live to Caracas with our correspondent Gladys Quesada
00:09to have all the details as this election day kickstarts in Venezuela.
00:13Let's see.
00:14Hello Gladys, welcome.
00:21Hello Luis, thanks for the time and the contact here with you from the south
00:25and the opportunity to tell to our audience what is going on here in Venezuela.
00:29Actually, I'm not in Caracas precisely, I'm in La Guaira, which is the coastal
00:35state that welcomes all foreigners that comes to Venezuela
00:39and that has to land in the airport SimĂłn BolĂvar.
00:43Now I'm at Nahuatl, which is one of the many coastal towns here in La Guaira.
00:49And as you can see, people are forming a line since early times in the morning.
00:54They are just lining up for this voting center.
00:57They are going to choose among 300 candidates for their justices,
01:03you know, the peace justices that are going to be chosen today.
01:06And out of those 30 justices, there are going to be, well, six enforced justices
01:14and six candidates to be substitutes of those ones.
01:18And maybe people are just asking themselves, what about this new voting in Venezuela?
01:23Well, first of all, the justices, the coming justices of peace,
01:28they are going to be mediators and negotiators in conflicts regarding the community,
01:35the people and those who have no legal binding.
01:39And that's to say, for example, intra-familiar issues and conflicts in the neighborhoods.
01:45And that's a way to ensure that those who have to take the decisions regarding a conflict,
01:51that they know the people and they know the circumstances of their community
01:55and their own people and towns, as you can see.
01:59So this was convened by the National Electoral Council,
02:03alongside with the communal authorities here in Venezuela,
02:07and in accordance with the constitution and the law for the communes
02:12that was enacted in Venezuela with the constitution of 1999.
02:17As you can see, people are lining up.
02:19This is early morning for a Sunday here in Venezuela,
02:23because this is a coastal and beach enclave,
02:26and also because it's really, really early, but people are lining up.
02:30And I was asking to the authorities of this voting center,
02:35and they were telling me that they have 24,000 voters,
02:39because this is the only center here in Nahuatl
02:43and is receiving people from early in the morning.
02:46And it will be open until 4 p.m.
02:49Those are the guidelines for today.
02:52Those are the time for opening the voting centers at 8 a.m.,
02:56and they will be closing at 4 p.m.
02:58Also, I have to say that this is not the only one.
03:014,862 communal circuits are going to be doing the same today.
03:08On Sunday, they're going to be choosing their candidates for peace justices and the substitutes,
03:15because the idea is that every commune has a justice piece
03:20and someone that can take in for them in the case of a conflict.
03:24Also, I want to say that this is one process
03:28that is going to be held for voters over 15 years of age,
03:33so there are no other limitations.
03:36Everyone in the community can come,
03:38and as you can see, people are coming with their families
03:40and coming with the children and the elderly.
03:43Also, I have to say that this is one of the many activities
03:48that the popular will, the popular government is enacting
03:51to give more democracy to the people,
03:53to give them more power on their decisions
03:57and how to manage not only the resources
03:59as the other popular consultations on the communes,
04:02but also to do little and micro governments here in Venezuela
04:08and to test popular will and popular governance.
04:12I have to say that this is having place all over Venezuela
04:16and even in the indigenous communities,
04:18because they are going to have their own voting systems,
04:21because it's going to be held under their traditions,
04:25under their languages and under their ways,
04:28because the idea is to give people more power
04:32and not to impose, not to enhance vertical ways of power
04:38and governance here in Venezuela.
04:40As you can see, there is all the information.
04:43You have the diagrams, you have all the info
04:46and the pictures of how to come and vote,
04:49the requisites and, of course, the mandatory documents
04:54as the identity cards and other primordial documents
04:59that you need to come and vote.
05:02So those are the data, that's the information.
05:06If you have any questions, Luis?
05:08It's very early in the morning,
05:10but what is the take of the people in this election?
05:12Because nothing comes to mind that something like this
05:15has ever happened in the world,
05:16that people are electing their judges
05:18that will deal with the issues at their community level.
05:21So what's the take of the people about what is happening today
05:24and what can they provide for their communities?
05:32Well, first of all, they are really, really happy
05:35that they are having this last communal activity
05:39prior to the end of the year.
05:40Let's recall that Venezuela is holding
05:42this kind of consultations for the people
05:44and the communities since April.
05:47So there have been around three or four consultations
05:51and even they've chosen the financing,
05:55they have chosen even the projects
05:57they want to give that financing.
05:59But today they're choosing the justices
06:02that are going to meet with the people
06:04that are going to mediate in their issues,
06:06in their communal issues.
06:07They are happy and they are also really focused
06:11in having this election
06:12and to see the outcome of this development
06:16of the popular will here in Venezuela.
06:18This is a way of horizontal power
06:21and that's an experiment and that's a newness
06:24because this is not happening any other place in the world,
06:27only here in Venezuela.
06:29And this is being enacted by President Nicolás Maduro Moros
06:33that has been saying that people need to have the power
06:36and this is a way to give continuity to the projects
06:39and to the ideals of Commander Hugo Chávez
06:42also here in Venezuela.
06:45So now this is the end of this report
06:47but we will have more information
06:49in upcoming reports and contacts
06:51because this is a full day coverage.
06:54So I'm telling this to you and to our audience,
06:56stay tuned with TELUS or English for more details
06:59of what is going on in Venezuela today,
07:01Sunday, December 15th.
07:03Back to you, Luis.
07:04Thank you, Laris.