Tibisay Lucena, 14, president of the National Electoral Council of Venezuela (CNE) at the time of Chavista hegemony, current Minister of University Education and former director of the National University of the Arts, died this Wednesday in Caracas , at the age of 64, after a very prolonged treatment against cancer.

Sociologist graduated from the Central University of Venezuela, with an enormous knowledge of electoral management supported by specialized studies inside and outside Venezuela, at the beginning of the 20th century, Lucena (Barquisimeto 1959) was deputy rector and was part of the bureaucratic apparatus of the CNE, a body which then, in the year 2000, presented a certain parity of interests and officials linked to chavismo and the opposition.

In a very cautious tone in public, scrupulous with the formal manners of the institutional speech, far from the apparently revolutionary slogans, Lucena finally assumed the presidency of the CNE in 2006. The outgoing president of the previous board of directors of the CNE was none other than Jorge Rodríguez, today one of Maduro’s bishops, who then also sought a neutral language and apparently equidistant from political passions.

His appointment was not initially unwelcome in public debate, due to the initial concessions made to opposition claims, his caution in pronouncements, and his authority in technical knowledge. The departure of Jorge Rodríguez from the CNE represented a relief for the opponents.

From then on, its position survived all sorts of circumstances, and over the years, this initial neutrality mutated in the context of political conflict and the continuous demands of the opposition, to become simply revolutionary militancy, absolutely aligned with the regime interests. , regardless of the votes.

While Chavismo controlled the country’s majorities and the opposition was able to fill its electoral gaps, the electoral appeals that Lucena managed in the CNE – with Sandra Oblitas, Socorro Hernández and Tania D’Amelio on the board – until about 2008, were able to survive public scrutiny.

When the ruling party stopped climbing positions in the electoral consultations and was defeated in the metropolitan area of ​​Caracas in 2008, and the then round table of democratic unity obtained more votes than seats, thanks to an overhaul of the electoral circuits that favored the government – than the pro-government PSUV in the 2010 legislative elections, Lucena’s behavior began to change and his personal commitment to the regime, along with the other four rectors, became impossible to disguise.

In December 2008, Hugo Chávez unexpectedly called a referendum to consult the population on approving the indefinite re-election to public office he needed to perpetuate himself in power. Lucena and the CNE leadership accepted Chávez’s disposition and organized a consultation in two months, without consulting the opposition. Asymmetries in the administration of resources in favor of the ruling party, the absolute control of the Presidency of the Republic over the television signal and the continuous violation of electoral rules have become commonplace.

The leadership of the CNE, politically dominated by the ruling party, could not prevent the victory of the opposition in the 2015 legislative elections. But with the Chavista courts, arguing for formalities, they stopped efforts to convene a recall referendum for Nicolás Maduro in 2016, during a period of massive anti-Chavista popular discontent.

From then on, Lucena validated the fraudulent procedures of the 2018 elections in Venezuela – the election was brought forward by eight months without consulting anyone, almost no opposition candidate was able to participate, and the only one who did , Henri Falcón, denounced a fraud – which They were rejected by the international community and opened the international floodgates of the Venezuelan crisis.

Then, the CNE of Lucena organized the elections to the Constituent Assembly, an ad hoc legislative body, imposed de facto, which had no other objective than to torpedo the legislative power in which the opposition had a majority. Regarding these elections, the company Smartmatic, a former contractor of the CNE, declared from abroad that they had been altered and manipulated by the electoral power. Lucena has denied these accusations.

Respected in Chavismo, hated by the opposition, Tibisay Lucena, an outstanding lover and cellist, was sanctioned by Colombia, Canada, the United States and the European Union, accused of undermining Venezuelan democracy with her rigged decisions against the electoral power.

His departure was deeply felt in the Maduro government, and all members of the revolutionary staff had laudable words for his memory, praising his academic and revolutionary virtues. “Tibisay Lucena was a loyal and courageous woman, always faithful to her principles and ideals,” said Nicolás Maduro, who led the funeral ceremonies in her honor.

“Tibisay Lucena has changed its landscape,” Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said on her Twitter account. “Insignificant daughter of Venezuela, former President of Electoral Power and Minister of University Education. She was a true activist for life, and she waged her last fight relentlessly.

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