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By Óscar Reyes-Matute (*) / מתת

THE USELESS QUESTION

A couple of friends (opponents Nicolás Maduro, of course) have asked me if I believe that Juan Guaidó was self-oath. My first answer would be pragmatist, and in English: Who cares? In my opinion, what is important is the result of his action, that is, that almost all of Latin American countries, the USA and Canada, England, France, Switzerland, Georgia, recognize and accept this act as valid, and that the EU has given a lapse for the convocation to elections (8 days), after which, if such convocation does not take place, then they would recognize as valid, legitimate and binding the act that occurred on January 23 in the afternoon, on Francisco de Miranda Avenue of Chacao neighborhood, in a opposition pallet at the Juan Pablo II Square, to be more exact.

And that should be enough ... Or not? Of course not, because we are Venezuelans, and we love to fuck. Let's say, if someone in the opposition social networks says timidly: "Boys, do not get angry with me, but I think he did self-sworn ..." immediately his own friends destroy him and he is classified as "traitor to our homeland" " enemy of democracy "" cripto-madurista "and a long etcetera.

TO OATH OR NOT TO OATH

1.- I think he did self-sworn. When one is sworn in, somebody puts a bible in our hand, a Constitution, a Koran, a Torah, a copy of Hitler's Mein Kampf, or the booklet of baseball rules, and a judge, an official, a representative of a collegiate body (or a priest when they marry you) asks: "Hey, do you swear to tell the truth, only the truth, and nothing but the truth? Do you swear to defend the Constitution and the laws of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela as Interim President? Do you swear that as long as God gives you life on this earth you will be a fan of the glorious and eternal New York Yankees and that you will hate the Boston Redsox to death? To which he who swears can even answer: "Yes, I swear, on this dying Constitution." And the one who takes the oath responds: "If you do so, may God and the country reward you, and if you don't let's they demand it to you. " And that was not what we saw, the deputy Guaidó was the one who took the oath of all (Raise your right hand, guys!) and even himself.

2.- The worst argument that sensitive skin opponents can wield is to deny what everyone is seeing in the video. Of course he self-sworn. The important question is: is that act valid? What political and legal arguments can be used to legitimize it? If one accepts the truth, that he self-sworn, will that serve as a necessary and sufficient argument to the government to win a trial in The Hague, or to prevent the EU from giving them an ultimatum? Can Maduro convince those who already recognized Guaidó, if the poor man (Marudo) uses the argument that Guaidó "self-sworn, and even his own followers recognize him"?

We will never know, no one is going to return from their acts due to that formality, later the little bird begged him. And I'm afraid that the bird this time was not Chavez but Trump.

To my friends (the opponents, because I also have friend on the other side), I offer a reasoned opinion.

It may not be entirely useless, given the arguments that are raised in the debate of the Security Council of the United Nations, and the one that looms for the European Union.

IN AN IDEAL WORLD ...

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3.- Of course they could (in a parallel universe) respect some formalities; let's not make a session in the National Assembly, to debate, offer pros and cons, vote, count the votes, invite the deputy Guaidó to go up to the Presidium, and that p.e. the secretary of the chamber can take the oath on behalf of the majority. But that would have given the government time to respond, enter with commands to the chamber, shoot tear gas, disband the session, and surely would not have counted on the deployment of cameras transmitting all around the planet that he had in Chacao.

The oath was made at the precise and opportune moment, and the opportunities in politics, my friends ...

I recommend you see a chapter of the miniseries "Salvation" in which the Asian-American Procurator of the Nation gives his verdict by video conference, from a hospital, where he recovers from an attack, and ratifies that the Constitutional President is Mrs. McKenzie, a transmision which is seen by the entire planet, or at least on the monitors of Times Square that appear in the following shots. Well, exactly that was what Guaidó did. Cyber-politics, video-politics, visual geopolitics, dear brothers.

Of course, they could at least have said: "Let the deputies present here come up to be a formal act of the National Assembly." There was deputy Stalin González, and perhaps deputies José Antonio España, Richard Casanova and Franco Casella. Guaidó could have called them, and some of them could take the oath, with the others raising their right hand, and the people behind swearing along with their leaders.

But it was not done ... We'll never know.

The question persists: Is it legal or not?

WASSOUT, ALWAYS WASSOUT

4.- I am not a lawyer, but from Giorgio Agamben I still retain the notion of the Roman law of tumultus, (calamity, state of shock, war, catastrophe) as sufficient cause for any citizen of the republic to perform the actions considered necessary to restore peace, freedom and institutions. And if that citizen is the President of Congress, well, that's better ... It's the famous article 233th of our Constitution.

This is - in the eyes of the opposition (which, curiously, can now be considered as a government) and of the international community that supports them - an exceptional situation, a power vacuum, because there is no legitimate president, or something even more complex, a supposed former president who allegedly usurps a power that does not correspond to him. And I'm not even talking about political, economic, humanitarian crisis as was heard yesterday in the UN debate, those are other arguments. I speak of constitutional causes, a state of exception, which is the title of the extraordinary book of the Jewish-Italian philosopher.

And as the one that follows in the line of succession is the President of the National Assembly, and how it was the turn of Voluntad Popular to assume that presidency after waiting three periods, and as Leopoldo López is imprisoned in his house and Freddy Guevara is taking refuge in the Chilean embassy, the government and Henry Ramos Allup unknowingly acted to create this accidental hero whom half the world now calls him as "Mr. President Guaidó. "

The self-swearing is legitimized because it is an exceptional act, in the midst of a situation of tumultus, crisis, famine, recognized even by the government, even if they blame it on the US presidents of the last 20 years, plus the additional opposition argument that last May's elections were not valid, etc., etc., etc.

A pertinent precedent is the oath of Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, before Judge Sarah T. Hughes on board of the Air Force One, the plane that transported the death body of JFK from Dallas. Moment of shock, you could not wait to get to Washington and convoque the Senate and the House of Representatives.

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Q.E.D.

ADDENDUM

Much debated my friends and I in the bars of Chacao if Guaidó had to be sworn in when María Corina demanded it loudly, or when he considered it convenient, at the exact moment.

Our reasoning was that:

a.- If he did it at that moment (before 23E), they would put him in jail and nothing would happen. There were no people on the street.

b.- Equal if he was sworn (or self-sworn) before, during or after 23E, anyway the countries and governments that do not want Maduro would support Guaidó. That support was already won.

c.- So he had to wake up the sleeping monster, the opposition people who had suffered so many defeats, and wait to see if he accumulated enough street strength, to support such action, to self-swear in as president.

d.- Whoever says he knew what was going to happen in 23E is cheating them. Do not pay for the advice. On the 21st, 48th anniversary of the foundation of the MAS of our torments, a tribute to Teodoro Pertkoff, Felipe Mujica still acknowledged in his speech that there was no road map, because it was not known what was going to happen on 23E, if the demonstration was going to be bad, regular, or good. And, unfortunately, government boys, it was exceptional, in the sense of Agamben.

e.- Of course Guaidó was prepared to swear if he saw a crowd, that is not improvised, but the act also requires inspiration, and guts, because you are risking your life and the life of millions who follow you.

F. When Caldera released Chávez, he did not imagine what his political decision was going to unleash in Venezuela. When the SEBIM officials freed Guaidó on his way to La Guaira, they repeated the story, they did not know what they were unleashing. They let him self-oath, and now ...

We will follow soon, as my countryman Reynaldo Armas says: "It's three in the morning / I'll try to sleep ..."

(*) Óscar Reyes-Matute is philosopher and screenwriter

Video recommended:
Self-oath of Juan Guaidó

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