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VENEZUELA Venezuela is a multicultural country. According to the XIV National Census of Population and Housing conducted in 2011, Venezuela’s indigenous population totals 725,128 people out of a total population of around 27 million. This represents an increase of 41.8% between 2001 and 2011. The census recorded declarations of individuals belonging to 51 indigenous peoples in the country. Among these the Wayuu counted for the majority of the population with 58% of the total, followed by the Warao with 7%; Kariña 5%; Pemón 4%; Jivi, Cumanagoto, Anu, and Piaroa 3% each; Chaima and Yukpa 2%; Yanomami 1% and others 9%. The 1999 Constitution recognised the country’s multi-ethnic and pluricultural nature and includes a chapter specifically dedicated to indigenous peoples’ rights, opening up indigenous spaces for political participation at national, state and local level. The Organic Law on Demarcation and Guarantees for the Habitat and Lands of the Indigenous Peoples came into force in 2001; ILO Convention 169 was ratified in 2002; and the Organic Law on Indigenous Peoples and Communities (LOPCI) was developed in 2005, broadly consolidating this framework of rights. Venezuela voted in favour of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007.

2014 was marked by serious political conflict and a resulting growing economic crisis. President Nicolás Maduro had been calling for talks with the opposition Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (Coalition for Democratic Unity) since the end of 2013 but these efforts came to a halt when a breakaway faction of the opposition began demanding that his government step down. The resulting street protests that took place in some middle and upper class areas (known as “La Salida” or “The Ousting”) ended in more than 40 deaths, and the destruction of public goods and highways. The economic crisis intensified as the year went on, reflected in a lack of some basic products, inflation running at more than 60% due to destabilis-

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ing factors, currency devaluation caused by a lack of foreign exchange and a strong system of exchange controls, all exacerbated by the collapse of oil prices, the main source of income for the Venezuelan economy. Price controls on subsidised goods, currency devaluation and the immoral actions of sectors devoted to providing contraband products have all resulted in a lack of basic goods such as foodstuffs and medicines. The national government has accused the opposition of conducting an “economic war”, and led a fight against smugglers and hoarders. Given the collapse in the oil price and the crisis of an oil-dependent rentier economy, the Venezuelan government is facing a need to diversify its sources of income, drawing on the potential of the agricultural, tourism, mining and industrial sectors. Significant progress was made during 2014 in legal and institutional terms to establish the foundations for the large-scale exploitation of mineral and hydrocarbon resources in the so-called “Orinoco Mining Arc” and the Perijá Mountains, which will have largely unpredictable socio-environmental effects on the indigenous peoples living in these areas. There were few improvements in the situation of constitutionally-recognised rights for indigenous peoples in 2014. The indigenous peoples’ main demand – the demarcation and titling of their lands – is still pending but also represents an obstacle to the state’s plans to continue with a development model focused on natural resource extraction, particularly hydrocarbons and minerals. In addition, the unregulated growth of illegal gold, diamond and coltan mining in the south of the country, along with the increasing presence of non-state armed actors, are issues of concern for indigenous peoples given the negative impacts they are having on the environment and on the communities themselves in their ancestral territories.

Creation of the Presidential Council for Indigenous Peoples and the National Institute for Indigenous Languages On 12 October, Vice-President Jorge Arreaza announced the creation of the Presidential Council of Popular Power for Indigenous Peoples (Consejo Presidencial del Poder Popular para los Pueblos Indígenas). The members of this Presidential Council were present on the occasion, with one representative for each of the country’s indigenous peoples. According to the Vice-President, this

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Sierra de Perijá

institution will have the same rank as the Council of Ministers and the objective of “creating a direct channel of communication between these communities and the Executive”.1 At the inauguration of the Council, President Nicolás Maduro, made a number of announcements: 1. That indigenous peoples over 50 years of age would now be eligible for a retirement pension. 2. That 2,963 million Bolivars were to be approved for the construction of 5,000 new homes in 2015, benefiting 23,698 indigenous people.

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3. That 575,792 Bolivars were to be approved for the provision of comprehensive assistance to 396 indigenous communities living in extreme poverty. 4. That a further 265 million Bolivars were to be set aside for financing socioproductive projects in the 396 indigenous communities. 5. That branches of the state bank were to be established in indigenous communities. 6. That the members of the Presidential Council for Indigenous Peoples were to be provided with tablet computers. 7. That resources were to be provided to improve communication with indigenous communities, through the support of the Armed Forces for air or river access and through the provision of satellite communication systems for the indigenous communities. In addition, the creation of the National Institute for Indigenous Languages (Instituto Nacional de Idiomas Indígenas) was announced. The Minister for Indigenous Peoples specified that this institute would be established within the context of the Law on Indigenous Languages, decreed in 2008, emphasising that “of the 44 native peoples in the country, 34 speak the language of their ethnic group and 10 have lost their language. We have been working on the proposal for this institute and its research process in order to strengthen or rescue the indigenous languages that have been lost.”

Demarcation and recognition of Indigenous Lands The Minister for Indigenous Peoples announced a 2014 target of providing 21 indigenous land titles in eight of the country’s states.2 On 13 October, President Maduro delivered six indigenous land titles to communities of the Cumanagoto and Kariña peoples in Anzoátegui state: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Guatacarito community (Cumanagoto indigenous people), for 1,891.24 ha. Jabillote community (Cumanagoto indigenous people), for 438.68 ha. Capachal community (Kari´ña indigenous people), for 983.52 ha. Pedregal community (Kari´ña indigenous people), for 3,294.53 ha. Guayabal community (Cumanagoto indigenous people), for 657.07 ha. Mapiricurito community (Kari´ña indigenous people), for 1,119.33 ha.

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To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the approval of the Constitution (15 December 2014), the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organisations of Amazonas (Coordinadora de Organizaciones Indígenas de Amazonas / COIAM), issued a press release giving an assessment of the national demarcation process for indigenous lands. Based on an analysis of official information on indigenous communities that have already been demarcated and on all communities nationally (around 3,000), they conclude that “87.6% of the indigenous habitat and lands still remains to be demarcated” in the country, demonstrating a “lack of political will to implement the demarcation process”. Finally, “in order to move forward with the national demarcation process”, they propose that the national government should: a) urgently review all outstanding requests for demarcation, in order to reach favourable decisions covering a sufficient area, in agreement with the peoples, communities and organisations involved; and b) produce and implement, with the active involvement of the indigenous organisations, a Plan of Action to Advance the Demarcation Progress, with clear criteria and giving priority to collective demarcations for indigenous and multi-ethnic peoples, based on the requests submitted via self-demarcation.3

The Yukpa people’s struggle for their territories Nine members of the families of community leaders Sabino Romero and Carmen Fernández have been murdered since 2008 in the struggle to recover their ancestral lands, invaded by large estate owners and smallholders in the Perijá Mountains, Zulia state.4 Although the lands have already been demarcated by the national government and officially handed over to the indigenous peoples, the former owners have not yet been compensated for their land and property and so some of them have sworn to do away with Sabino Romero and his whole family. The Yukpa are nonetheless continuing to recover their territories, occupying estates that have not yet been compensated by the government. “On 11 February, they occupied the Mi Deleite estate and, on 19 March, the Las Delicias estate, leaving Araguaney, Carmen and another two small farms to be occupied in this area, along with the Estrella lands.” 5 The response of the cattle ranchers, with hired assassins at their service and with the alleged support of members of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB), has been to continue the aggression against these people. On 3 January

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2014, they attempted to murder Silverio Romero, 18 years of age, one of the younger sons of Sabino Romero. The aggressors, armed with shotguns, turned out to be hired assassins linked to the landowners. On 16 February, Rodolfo Fernández, 16-year-old son of Carmen Fernández (Kuse community leader and Sabino’s niece), was beaten up by members of the army in Kuse community and, on 20 February, Leandro Romero Izarra, Sabino’s brother, was detained and brutally beaten by a group of soldiers. On 24 June, five members of the Bolivian National Guard from the El Tokuko border post attacked Carmen Fernández’s children near the former Las Delicias estate, killing Cristóbal Fernández and injuring his brother, Leonardo. Cristóbal was an important witness in the case underway against six individuals charged with the murder of Sabino Romero. With this new crime, the number of Carmen Fernández’s children who have been killed now comes to three, with another five family members injured. All these cases have gone unpunished. On 30 June, after the burial and wake of Cristóbal Fernández, a group of more than 100 Yukpa from Tukuko and criollos from Machiques laid siege to Carmen Fernández’s house for eight hours.* She was seriously injured by a shot to the neck, and her son, Luis Adolfo Fernández, and a nephew were also injured. The whole family was evicted from Las Delicias and later arrested when they went to make a complaint.6 On 15 August, five municipal police officers from Machiques were sentenced to seven years in prison after admitting their involvement in the murder of Sabino Romero Izarra on 3 March 2013, an attack during which his wife, Lucía Martínez, was also injured. Activists linked to the Yukpa cause condemned the sentence for being too lenient. Ángel Romero, alias El Manguera (former member of the Anti-Extortion and Kidnapping Group of the Bolivarian National Guard and bodyguard to the Machiques municipal mayor) is still on trial for the same case, alleged to have been the one who fired at the leader and his wife.7 Lucía Martínez, Sabino’s widow, Carmen Fernández and Sociedad Homo et Natura have denounced the delays in the case, given that the hearings have now been postponed seven times, and are demanding that the intellectual authors of the crime, linked to the Machiques cattle farmers’ association, be brought to justice and punished.8 *

The Yukpa are not unified on the issue of demarcation of their territory and about the relationship they have with the government. Some Yukpa do not support the struggle spearheaded by Sabino Romero, Carmen Fernández and others to recover their lands and are, conversely, allies of the ranchers and large landowners.

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Illegal mining and the presence of non-state armed groups on indigenous territories In the Venezuelan Amazon, the boom in illegal mining of gold, diamonds and coltan, the presence of irregular armed groups and the national government’s plans to develop the so-called “Orinoco Mining Arc” have led to reactions from different sectors – particularly the indigenous organisations – concerned at the social and environmental impacts of mining on their territories. COIAM published a statement in 2014 expressing its concern at the increase in illegal mining in the Atabapo river basin, in the Yapacana National Park and in the lower reaches of the Ventuari River, largely being undertaken by foreigners coming from Colombia and Brazil, and causing the destruction of large areas of forestland, altering the course of rivers and contaminating them with mercury. They also highlighted the fact that the illegal mining was being accompanied by other unlawful activities such as the smuggling of goods, fuel trafficking, prostitution and human trafficking, the illegal entry onto the national territory of foreigners, the presence of armed groups causing violence and the trafficking of banned substances. Finally, they called on the state’s civilian and military authorities to take urgent action to control the mining and other unlawful activities.9 The Organisations of Indigenous Women of Amazonas (Organizaciones de Mujeres Indígenas de Amazonas) also published a press release on “the presence of non-state armed groups and illegal miners on our ancestral territory”. The document noted the presence of non-state armed groups, who self-identify as members of the FARC, and who are “attacking, harassing and threatening our elders – leaders and active members of the indigenous organisations -, protecting the illegal miners, using coercion, threats and intimidation to create fear and to contribute to the displacement of indigenous communities, capturing and recruiting children, and invading the sacred places of the indigenous territories, affecting the spiritual well-being”. They also noted that “illegal mining is plundering our ancestral territories and affecting indigenous women disproportionately, as they are an easy target for networks wishing to traffic them for sexual and labour exploitation, along with women, children and adolescents who choose or are forced into prostitution, a situation that results in high levels of unwanted pregnancies, sexually-transmitted infections and sexual violence”.10

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Illegal mining in the Caura River basin, Bolívar state The “Kuyujani” Indigenous Organisation of the Caura River Basin (Organización Indígena de la Cuenca del Caura “Kuyujani”), which groups together 53 communities of the Yek’wana and Sánema peoples, has denounced the exponential increase in mining activity in the upper reaches of the Caura River, in Bolívar state. According to Mayraleno Cortés, leader of the organisation, there are currently more than 3,000 miners working with machines on the Yuruaní River and where it meets the Caura. There has also been a proliferation of bars with under-age prostitutes and the sale of drugs and alcohol. All this is taking place despite the existence of four FANB control posts along the Caura River. Instead of ensuring the security of the indigenous communities, these guards are attacking and mistreating them. On 14 May 2014, the Supreme Court of Justice passed a decision urging the National Executive to reclassify the Caura Forest Reserve under a more restrictive status as provided by the Organic Law for Land Planning. In addition, it ordered “an immediate halt to all exploitation, use, extraction of or trade in metal or non-metal minerals (…) in the region of the current Caura Forest Reserve and its hydrographic basin”. It also instructed the Ministry for the Environment to commence a programme to rehabilitate the areas degraded by mining.11 The “Kuyujani” Indigenous Organisation issued a statement following the ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice in which it called for the collective titling of the lands of the Ye’kwana and Sánema peoples of the Caura basin, a process which has been pending since 2006. It also rejected the fact that “under the pretext of ‘environmental conservation’ attempts are being made to impose protected areas and any other concept of Areas Under the Special Administration Scheme (ABRAE) on our ancestral territories, without previously granting collective title to our traditional habitats and territories in the Caura basin”.12

State mining policy and development of the “Orinoco Mining Arc” On 20 March 2014, President Nicolás Maduro approved Decree No. 84113 establishing the creation of the Presidential Commission for the Protection, Development and Integral Promotion of Legal Mining Activity in Guayana Region,14 with

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the aim of producing and implementing an Action Plan to comprehensively address the problem of illegal mining in the area, in line with the objectives of the Nation’s Second Socialist Plan, 2013-2019. In June, COIAM published a press release on the enactment of Decree No. 841. According to the indigenous organisations, this regulation seeks to implement the so-called “Orinoco Mining Arc”, developing and promoting mining activity in the Guayana region (part of the Amazon) and natural resource extraction as established in the Nation’s Second Socialist Plan. In the press release, they expressed their concern that the decree was approved without the prior and informed consultation of the indigenous peoples affected, and without the Venezuelan state having conducted the effective demarcation of the indigenous lands. They also repeated their rejection of mining in all its different forms, as it is having serious environmental and sociocultural impacts on indigenous peoples’ living conditions. They concluded by requesting that the national government review its development policies for the Venezuelan Amazon, that it studies and explores alternative and environmentally-sustainable development models and decrees a moratorium on mining activity in the south of Orinoco in order to ensure the protection of the great water and forest resources of the Amazon as well as the important biological and social diversity of these territories.15 On 11 June, Nicia Maldonado, Minister for the Comprehensive Development of the Guayana Region and former Minister for Indigenous Peoples, officially inaugurated the Presidential Commission for the Protection, Development and Integral Promotion of Legal Mining Activity in Guayana Region. This is the government’s fifth attempt to put a stop to illegal mining. On 9 August, a meeting was held with representatives of indigenous organisations from Bolívar state, convened by the Presidential Commission for the Protection, Development and Integral Promotion of Legal Mining Activity in Guayana Region. The meeting was in response to indigenous complaints at their exclusion and the absence of prior and informed consent with regard to the creation of this Commission and the approval of Decree No. 841. The indigenous representatives made a series of complaints referring to the problems they are suffering due to mining: mafias allied to FANB officials; drug, fuel and food trafficking; hired assassins; invasions by armed groups; the devastation of protected areas; and contamination of the rivers with mercury.

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Juan Blanco, a leader of the Pemón people, stated that “our communities have gradually been devastated by foreigners who have virtually fenced us in, and by of the poorly named “unions”16 who come from who knows where with so many weapons. Soldiers on active duty are offering to support the mining mafia.” He also mentioned the involvement of indigenous communities in mining: “We are local people who depend on mining; we indigenous communities have immense needs and, because of these needs, we have been abandoning our customs and our culture.” 17 The “Kuyunu” organisation of the Ye´kwana and Sánema peoples of the Upper Ventuari River, in Amazonas state, rejected the agreement reached between the governments of Venezuela and the People’s Republic of China in 2012 for mineral exploration and exploitation in various regions of the south of the country. In their press release, they stated that they were against mineral exploration and exploitation on their territory and had not been consulted over the signing of the agreement with the CITIC Chinese mining company in this regard. They called for the titling of the lands of the Upper Ventuari basin, the request for which has been lodged with the Regional Demarcation Commission since December 2009.18 Decree No. 1,396, approved on 18 November 2014, announced the Organic Law Reserving Activities of Gold Exploration and Exploitation for the State, along with everything connected with and auxiliary to this19 “with the aim of reversing the serious effects of the capitalist mining model, characterised by environmental degradation, lack of respect for land planning, and attacks on the dignity and health of miners and of the people living in communities around the mining areas”. Article 40 of this law states that gold mining and gold mining areas are strategic for the Nation, and should be declared as National Security Zones. This means it will be the FANB’s responsibility, among other things, “to participate actively in assisting and developing the indigenous communities and peoples that make a living in the mining zones”.

Developmentalist and extractivist projects in Zulia state In Zulia state, social and environmental movements are continuing to confront regional and national government plans to open new coal mines in the Perijá Mountains and construct a coal-powered thermoelectric plant and a deep-water port at the exit to the Maracaibo Lake. These large-scale projects form part of the

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Zulia State Economic / Productive Development Plan for 2013-2016, which aims to increase coal production from 7 to 22 million tonnes.20 Coal extraction from the Paso Diablo and Mina Norte mines has resulted in a decrease in the volume of the Guasare River and its tributaries and a number of indigenous Wayúu communities have been displaced and are suffering environmental and health impacts. The plans to open new coal mines would affect the Socuy, Cachirí and Maché rivers, displacing Wayúu communities that traditionally live in these basins and affecting the rivers and the provision of water to Maracaibo and other nearby towns, which are already suffering from poor supplies.21 The construction of highways and the América or Bolívar port for the transportation and export of the coal and oil produced could have large-scale environmental impacts on the ecosystems of the Maracaibo Lake and the Gulf of Venezuela. This would also affect the islands of San Bernardo, San Carlos, Pájaro and Zapara, which form part of the ancestral territory of the indigenous Añú people, not yet demarcated.22

Mapoyo oral tradition recognised by UNESCO as intangible heritage The Mapoyo are an indigenous people living on the grasslands that extend from the Los Pijiguaos mountain range to the Orinoco River, in the far west of Guayana region. They comprise a population of around 400 people, living primarily in the community of El Palomo. The Mapoyo language is related to the Carib language and is in danger of extinction, with only three speakers left. In November 2014, through the Centre for Diversity and Cultural Identity (Centro de la Diversidad e Identidad Cultural), the Venezuelan government proposed that UNESCO recognise “the oral Mapoyo tradition and its symbolic references in the ancestral territory” and include it on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage requiring urgent safeguarding measures. The oldest people in the community maintain this oral tradition but its transmission to new generations is being threatened by factors such as: the emigration of young people for educational and economic opportunities; the expansion of the mining industry; and the influence of the formal state education system, which  does not encourage the use of a person’s mother tongue.23

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Notes and references 1 “Arreaza instala Consejo Presidencial de los Pueblos Indígenas”, in El Universal, 12.10.14. 2 AVN. “Este año está prevista la entrega de 21 títulos de tierra y hábitat indígenas”. 08.01.14. 3 COIAM. “Comunicado de la COIAM sobre el proceso nacional de demarcación de hábitat y tierras indígenas a los 15 años de aprobación de la Constitución de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela”. 28.11.14. 4 Barrios, D. “Van 9 yukpas asesinados en la lucha por sus tierras”, in Últimas Noticias, 07.08.14. 5 Sociedad Homo et Natura. “El Estado Gobierno sigue en deuda con los Yukpa”. 20.05.14. 6 Sociedad Homo et Natura. “S O S por las familias de Carmen Fernández y Sabino Romero Izarra”. 25.07.14 7 “Condenan a cinco hombres por muerte de Sabino Romero”, in Diario La Verdad, 18.08.14. 8 Lucía Martínez y Carmen Fernández. “Lucía Martínez Romero y Carmen Fernández Romero hace un llamado”. 10.11.14. 9 COIAM. “Comunicado de la COIAM sobre la minería ilegal en el municipio Atabapo”. 05.05.14. 10 OMIDA – Wanaaleru. “Comunicado de las Organizaciones de Mujeres Indígenas de Amazonas sobre la situación de las mujeres indígenas en el municipio Autana”. 11.12.14. 11 Supreme Court of Justice. Constitutional Chamber. Case No. 12-1166. 14.05.14. 12 Kiyujani Indigenous Organisation of the Caura Basin. “Pronunciamiento de los pueblos y comunidades Ye´kwana y Sánema del Caura ante la Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo de Justicia Sala Constitucional. EXP. 12-1166”. 15.05.14. 13 Gaceta Oficial, No. 40.376, 20.03.14 14 The Guayana region covers three states in the south of the country: Amazonas, Bolívar and Delta Amacuro. 15 COIAM. “Segundo Comunicado de la COIAM sobre la nueva política minera del Estado venezolano”. 02.06.14. 16 In the mining zones of Bolívar state, the so-called “unions” are non-state armed groups that extort miners in exchange for their security. 17 Rangel, C. “En las minas los militares están prestándose para apoyar a la mafia”, in Correo del Caroní, 09.08.14. 18 “Los pueblos Ye´kwana y Sánema rechazan la presencia de la empresa minera china (CITIC) y de grupo generador de violencia en el Alto Ventuari, in La Iglesia en Amazonas, No. 144, June 2014. 19 Gaceta Oficial No. 6.150 Extraordinario, 18.11.14 20 Gil B., M. “La Sociedad Homo et Natura: No al Puerto América”, in Tal Cual, 26.05.14. 21 Sociedad Homo et Natura. “No a la carboeléctrica en el Zulia ni a la explotación de carbón en el río Socuy, si al agua y a la energía limpia del Parque Eólico de la Guajira”. 01.09.14; “Desde PDVSA/ Carbozulia, Ministerio de Energía y la Gobernación del Zulia se conjura la muerte de los ríos Guasare, Socuy y Maché y el desplazamiento de los pueblos wayuu aledaños”. 28.12.13. 22 Sociedad Homo et Natura. “La salvación del Lago de Maracaibo no es cerrarlo para construir Puerto Bolívar”. 13.05.14. 23 UNESCO. “La tradición oral mapoyo y sus referentes simbólicos en el territorio ancestral”, in http:// www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=es&pg=00011&USL=00983

Aimé Tillett. Grupo de Trabajo Socioambiental de la Amazonía - Wataniba