Information from the Justice and Peace Support Network (Red de Apoyo por la Justicia y la Paz), part 2 of 3: selected student movements, 1994-96 [VEN27312.EX]

This Response is the second in a series of three on selected political, social and student groups active in Venezuela. The Justice and Peace Support Network (Red de Apoyo por la Justicia y la Paz), a nongovernmental, not-for-profit human rights organization based in Caracas, provided the information for all three Responses. Its mandate is to help victims and their families report abuses and defend their rights; it also participates in educational and broader advocacy efforts. In gathering details on the aforementioned groups, the Network consulted NGO reports as well as newspaper and periodical articles, and it conducted interviews with people who are members of or otherwise closely associated with the groups. The information provided focuses primarily on the period from January 1994 to July 1996.

This Response profiles student movements during the first years of the second government of President Rafael Caldera. Any opinions expressed in this Response are those of Red de Apoyo. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, either exhaustive with respect to conditions in the country surveyed or conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Overview

As a result of the public education policies of the 1970s, Venezuela's multi-ethnic student population includes people from all geographic areas and economic backgrounds. Between 1994 and 1996, more than five per cent of the country's population was enroled at a high-school or post-secondary institution. Nearly half of these students were in Caracas, Merida, Maracay and Maracaibo, the four cities with the largest number of schools. Valencia and Barquisimeto also had significant student populations.

Venezuelan students and student organizations have in the past played strong and often decisive roles during protests and other campaigns for social reform. In the first three years of the current Caldera administration, they have continued to be just as active and vocal, and, at times, they have been the only sector of society to maintain--on occasion, for months at a stretch--steady anti-government opposition in the streets.

Although this activism has earned student organizations a degree of recognition from other sectors of Venezuelan society, it has also attracted the attention of intelligence and police services. Indeed, especially during times of social unrest, students and student organizations have reported the highest number of searches, detentions, and instances of torture and harassment. They have also counted the most injured and dead. The state views the organizations as a permanent threat to political stability and order, and the Ministry of the Interior, in particular, accuses them of harbouring militants with subversive agendas.

The student movement lacks a unified agenda, and its activities are described by the Justice and Peace Support Network as generally erratic. The various organizations that comprise it are narrow in scope and function inconsistently. These problems have worsened over time, and more than a hundred student organizations that had been active since the early 1980s, either within or outside educational institutions, have disappeared so far during Caldera's second term in office. Only a few remain, and these almost exclusively as part of more traditional student organizations within institutions, such as student centres or federations.

Student Protests

The Justice and Peace Support Network has identified four major rounds of student protests that received media coverage in 1994 and 1995:

- 5 July 1994, in Ocumare del Tuy (Miranda state): student demonstration in support of health services and against student repression;
- 15-17 July 1995, in Maracay (Aragua state), Valencia (Carabobo state) and Caracas, respectively: demonstrations in defense of the right to life, motivated by the police killing of student Miguel Colina during a previous demonstration related to student bus fares;
- 30 March 1995, in Maracay (Aragua state): demonstration by student and other groups in defense of the right to life and better housing, and against the high cost of living; and
- 6 May 1995, in the states of Caracas, Bolivar, Barina, Sucre, Miranda and Aragua: violent demonstrations over the death of student German Sotillo.

Student organizations have resorted to a wide variety of means to push for demands and express dissatisfaction. These range from printed communiques, marches and peaceful sit-ins to violent demonstrations during which streets are blockaded, vehicles seized and set on fire, and bystanders endangered. Physical confrontations with security forces also take place during these latter demonstrations.

Certain independent student groups use encapuchados during their protests. Named for the hoods or masks they wear to hide their faces and avoid identification, these individuals, not all of whom are students, take part in demonstrations violently (e.g., through armed confrontation or by committing arson). Combined with the security forces' already existing prejudice against students, the participation of groups or individuals who indiscriminately resort to violence during student demonstrations fosters antagonism. It is often used to justify repression and abuses against students even during peaceful protests. Many student demonstrations end in confrontations with security forces involving not just stones, pellets, tear gas and Molotov cocktails, but explosives and bullets, too. Casualties of such violence have included dead and wounded police officers, students and other civilians.

In summary, student protests can generally be described as one of three types: (1) street demonstrations in which demonstrators throw stones, Molotov cocktails and other explosive devices at police present at the scene; (2) peaceful demonstrations in which police violently repress demonstrators using pellets, rubber bullets, tear gas and batons (in some instances, police have used conventional firearms, resulting in woundings and deaths); and (3) demonstrations in which non-students are involved and which result in looting and in riots that can overwhelm police (the riots can spread, triggering many violent incidents and ending in large numbers of injuries and arrests).

Response of Government and Security Forces

Among the police services that have usually dealt with student movements during demonstrations, violent confrontations, raids and arrests, are the Metropolitan Police (Policia Metropolitana, PM), which operates only in Caracas and Barcelona, the National Guard (Guardia Nacional, GN), the Intelligence and Prevention Services Directorate (Division de Inteligencia y Prevencion, DISIP), the Judicial Technical Police (Policia Tecnica Judicial, PTJ) and municipal and state police forces.

A common practice of past Venezuelan governments has been to announce the arrest of militants belonging to fringe political opposition groups and, often, to cite as a reason for the arrest their possession of military weapons. The militants' political motives and the suggestion that they intended to use the weapons in armed insurrections were used as excuses for handing the detainees over to military courts; however, this practice has not taken place during the time period covered in this Response. Now the militants generally are detained for an average of eight days and then released without explanation. This suggests to the Justice and Peace Support Network that the alleged crimes for which these people were arrested never took place. These actions often occur during critical periods, at which time the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of the Interior claim that destabilizing groups are planning disruptions to weaken the government or hamper security forces. To justify such allegations and make it seem that strong action is needed to maintain control, the DISIP and the Military Intelligence Directorate (Direccion de Inteligencia Militar, DIM) detain a number of supposed subversives, who are held and harassed for no more than eight days and then released.

Selected Student Organizations

The following is a list of student organizations that have reported problems with authorities in the past. In its descriptions, the Justice and Peace Support Network uses the terms "medium degree of politicization" and "high degree of politicization." Organizations with a medium degree of politicization develop and publish analyses on specific issues but have not yet formulated any national project or plan. Their members are still defining intellectual and political positions, even though they may already belong to political parties. Although the organizations operate at the national level, they do not have unified policies. They participate in ideological, political and social debate on specific issues only. In contrast, organizations with a high degree of politicization regularly publish policy proposals and analyses. Their members have received intellectual and political training. The organizations are established at national and regional levels, and they systematically participate in ideological, political and social debate.

The groups listed are made up of students from all ethnic backgrounds. However, whereas the first five groups include students from all economic strata, the last three are reportedly comprised mainly of those from middle and lower classes.

Federation of Student Centres of the Central University of Venezuela (Federacion de Centros Universitarios de la Universidad Central de Venezuela, FCU-UCV)

Goals: To obtain recognition of and defend the academic and socioeconomic demands of students; to defend the economic, social and political rights of Venezuelans; to coordinate academic and political activities by university students at the national level.

Activities: Meetings, peaceful and violent street demonstrations against government agencies and the media.

Socio-ethnic composition: multi-ethnic; includes students from all economic strata.

Degree of politicization: Most members do not belong to political parties, although some have joined the Young Revolutionaries Union (Union de Jovenes Revolucionarios or UJR, see below). All members have a medium degree of politicization.

Headquarters: Central University of Venezuela, Caracas.

Problems: Some members have been arrested and tortured by the PM, DISIP and PTJ. They have been linked to encapuchados and have been labelled as destabilizers and subversives.

Federation of Students of the Luis Caballero Mejias University Institute (Federacion de Estudiantes del Instituto Universitario "Luis Caballero Mejias", FCE-IULCM)

Goals: To propose and achieve academic, social and political reforms at the country's polytechnic institutes.

Activities: Meetings, peaceful and violent street demonstrations against government agencies and the media.

Socio-ethnic composition: multi-ethnic; includes students from all economic strata.

Degree of politicization: Most members do not belong to political parties, although some have joined the Ezequiel Zamora Autonomous Movement (Movimiento Autonomo Ezequiel Zamora, see below) and the UJR. All members have a medium degree of politicization.

Headquarters: Main building of the "Luis Caballero Mejias" University Institute, Principal de la Yaguara Avenue, La Yaguara.

Problems: Some members have been arrested and tortured by the PM, DISIP and PTJ. They have been linked to encapuchados and have been labelled as destabilizers and subversives.

Student Federation of the Caracas Pedagogical University Institute (Federacion de Estudiantes del Instituto Universitario Pedagogico de Caracas, FEIUPEL)

Goals: Promote academic reforms at the country's pedagogical institutes and defend student demands.

Activities: Meetings, peaceful and violent street demonstrations against government agencies and the media.

Socio-ethnic composition: multi-ethnic; includes students from all economic strata.

Degree of politicization: Members belong to the Communist Youth of the Communist Party of Venezuela (Partido Comunista de Venezuela, PCV), the UJR and the Student Disobedience Autonomous Movement (Movimiento Autonomo Desobediencia Estudantil, see below). All members have a medium degree of politicization.

Headquarters: La Paz Avenue (beside the former Caracas Pedagogical Institute), El Paraiso, Caracas.

Problems: Some members have been arrested and tortured by the PM, DISIP and PTJ. They have been linked to encapuchados and have been labelled as destabilizers and subversives.

Federation of University Students of Venezuela (Federacion de Estudiantes Universitarios de Venezuela, FEUV)

Goals: To help all university students in the country organize; to convene and coordinate days of protest in support of student demands.

Activities: Meetings, peaceful and violent street demonstrations against government agencies and the media.

Socio-ethnic composition: multi-ethnic; includes students from all economic strata.

Degree of politicization: Most members belong to the UJR, although many belong to conservative parties such as Democratic Action (Accion Democratica, AD) and the Copei Revolutionary Youth (Juventud Revolucionaria Copeyana, JRC-COPEI). All members have a medium degree of politicization.

Headquarters: Simon Bolivar University, Caracas.

Problems: Some members have been arrested and tortured by the PM and DISIP.

Regional Coordinator of High School Students (Coordinadora Regional de Estudiantes de Educacion Media, CREEM).

CREEM's predecessor, the Regional High School Federation (Federacion Regional de Educacion Media, FREM) was in operation until about 1984, but it disappeared after the government of President Luis Herrera Campins (1984-1988) arrested many of its members and declared student centres in high schools and technical schools in the country illegal.

Goals: To obtain recognition of and defend the academic and socioeconomic demands of high school students; CREEM also participates in demonstrations organized by university centres and allies itself with demands of grass-roots and labour sectors.

Activities: Meetings, peaceful and violent street demonstrations against government agencies and the media.

Socio-ethnic composition: multi-ethnic; includes students from all economic strata.

Degree of politicization: Members belong to the UJR, Student Disobedience Autonomous Movement, Causa R (a legal left-wing party) and the Ezequiel Zamora Autonomous Movement. All members have a medium degree of politicization.

Headquarters: None.

Problems: Some members have been arrested and tortured by the PM, DISIP and PTJ. They have been linked to encapuchados and have been labelled as destabilizers and subversives.

Ezequiel Zamora Autonomous Movement (Movimiento Autonomo Ezequiel Zamora)

Goals: To establish means for coordinating with other student and grass-roots movements in order to protest against the government's education and economic policies.

Activities: Organizes forums and debates on educational issues and organizes protests against the government's education and economic policies.

Socio-ethnic composition: multi-ethnic; comprised mainly of those from middle and lower classes.

Degree of politicization: All members are highly politicized.

Headquarters: None.

Problems: Some members have been harassed, arrested and tortured by the PM, DISIP and PTJ. They have been linked to encapuchados and have been labelled as destabilizers and subversives. According to the Justice and Peace Support Network, a number of them have had to leave the country due to [translation] "persecution suffered at the hands of the security forces."

Student Disobedience Autonomous Movement (Movimiento Autonomo Desobediencia Estudantil)

Goals: To promote revolutionary change in society and establish means of coordinating with student, political and grass-roots sectors to hold protests against the government's fiscal, monetary and social policies.

Activities: Publicly denounces the government and organizes protests against government policies.

Socio-ethnic composition: multi-ethnic; comprised mainly of those from middle and lower classes.

Degree of politicization: The movement has no links to political parties. There are other independent movements with names the same as or similar to this one; however, Student Disobedience is not formally connected with these. Most members are highly politicized.

Headquarters: None.

Problems: Some members have been harassed, arrested and tortured by the PM, DISIP and PTJ. They have been linked to encapuchados and have been accused of being part of plans to destabilize and overthrow the regime.

Young Revolutionaries Union (Union de Jovenes Revolucionarios, UJR)

Goals: To promote revolutionary change in society and establish means of coordinating with student, political and grass-roots sectors to hold protests against the government's fiscal, monetary and social policies.

Activities: Publicly denounces the government and organizes protests against government policies.

Socio-ethnic composition: multi-ethnic; comprised mainly of those from middle and lower classes.

Degree of politicization: The left-wing Red Flag Party (Partido Bandera Roja, PBR) has identified this group as a part of its organization at the student and youth level. Most members are highly politicized.

Headquarters: J.A. Building, University Avenue (corner of the Coliseum), Caracas.

Problems: Some members have been harassed, arrested and tortured by the PM, DISIP and PTJ. They have been linked to encapuchados and have been accused of being part of plans to destabilize and overthrow the regime.

For other information on Venezuela, please consult DIRB's databases and sources available at the IRB's Regional Documentation Centres.