AFRO-VENEZUELANS
AND
THE STRUGGLE AGAINST RACISM
THE LEGACY OF SLAVERY
An
estimated 100,000 enslaved Africans were brought to Venezuela between the 16th
and 19th centuries.[2] Most were sold to the central coastal states, which drove
an agricultural economy based in coffee and cacao. Abolition occurred in
1854, but freedom did not bring equality. Racism continued to flourish in
Venezuela throughout most of the 20th century, and African heritage
was denied through an emphasis on racial mixing. The mestizo, born
of European, Indigenous, and African blood, became a cornerstone of national
identity. In this scheme, Blackness was devalued to such an extent that
state policies sought to "whiten" the population through European
immigration.[3] Venezuela, like many other Latin American countries, used
the idea of the mestizo to uphold a myth of racial democracy that denied
rampant discrimination on the basis of skin color.[4]
THE IMPACT OF THE BOLIVARIAN REVOLUTION
Hugo
Chavez is the first president in Venezuela's history to claim and honor his
Indigenous and African ancestry. Since his first election in 1998,
reforms have been instituted to address the problems faced by the
Afro-Venezuelan community and to extend to them important social, political, and economic rights.
Historically, poor and rural citizens have lacked access to health care and
education. Because cities and states with the
largest Afro-Venezuelan populations face the highest levels of poverty,
the recent social missions instituted by the Chavez administration have had a
huge impact.
EDUCATION: Massive literacy campaigns
and new educational institutions have allowed more than 1.5 million adults to
learn to read and write, or to return to school. Due to subsidized education
programs for elementary, high school, and college-aged students,
Afro-Venezuelans are partaking in education at unprecedented rates. Once
a privilege enjoyed by only a few, education is now considered a human right.
HEALTH CARE: In 1999, Venezuela became the first Latin American
country to guarantee all citizens the right to basic health care. To meet this goal, a partnership was initiated with the
government of Cuba, which has provided 20,000 medical professionals to treat
previously underserved Venezuelans. In the past 5 years, thousands of
community health clinics have been established throughout the country. Today,
more than 60% of the Venezuelan population receives some form of
government-sponsored health care. The results have been dramatic; between
1996 and 2002, infant mortality rates decreased by 38%.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION: Since 2003, millions of Afro-Venezuelans have been
issued national ID cards guaranteeing them the citizenship rights they
previously lacked. Article 56 of the 1999 Constitution guaranteed all
persons the right to free registration with the Civil Registry Office, a
measure which has allowed electoral participation among Afro-Venezuelans to
grow tremendously. In unprecedented numbers, Afro-Venezuelans are exercising
their right to vote as well as to run for political office.
Afro-Venezuelans occupy important posts in the Chavez administration as
legislators, ambassadors, and assemblymen. It is the first administration
in Venezuelan history to include a Black Venezuelan in the President’s Cabinet.
RELATIONS WITH AFRICA AND THE CARIBBEAN