Venezuela Sets Commission to Expose the Truth of Colonialism

On Tuesday, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro swore in 20 members of a commission for the clarification of historical truth regarding colonialism and its consequences.

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"It is a commission to delve into the truth of European colonialism and its crimes and genocide. It will show the looting that took place in Latin America and will demand justice and reparation from Spain, Portugal and other Europe countries," he said.

This historical commission was proposed on Oct. 12, 2021, when Venezuela celebrated the "Indigenous Resistance" Day. On that occasion, Maduro sent a letter to the King of Spain asking him to apologize to the peoples of the America for the crimes and genocide committed by the Spanish.

The Bolivarian president also insisted that justice can only be achieved through adequate historical research and "a great effort of education."

The historical commission is chaired by Venezuela's Culture Minister Ernesto Villegas and includes historian Pedro Calzadilla, rector of the National Electoral Council (CNE); Roside Gonzalez, the minister of Indigenous Peoples; lawmakers Noeli Pocaterra, Aloha Nuñez and Alexis Rodriguez Cabello;Alexander Torres, president of the National History Center, and Reinaldo Bolivar, president of the Center for African Knowledge.

The Historical Commission is also made up of Luis Pellicer, vice-rector of the Experimental University of the Arts; Jorge Berroeta, director of the General Archive of the Nation; Jesus Garcia, member of the Afro-Venezuelan Network; writers Luis Brito and Gustavo Pereira, and the historians Iraida Vargas, Mario Sanoja, Juan Romero, Carmen Bohorquez, Marcial Ramos, Vladimir Acosta, Casimira Monasterio, and Dulce Marrufo.

The Bolivarian Culture Minister indicated that the Commission will carry out its mission through tasks such as the preparation of documentary work on colonialism and the compilation of existing investigations in this regard.

"It is an effort to search for the truth to achieve justice and reparation," Villegas said, explaining that what is sought is a "symbolic reparation" that consists of a request for forgiveness from the highest levels of the countries that were involved in colonial plunder.