Noelí Pocaterra
Noelí Pocaterra | |
|---|---|
Addressing the Constituent Assembly in 1999 | |
| Member of the Constituent Assembly | |
| In office 2017–2020 | |
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| In office August 2000 – 5 January 2011 | |
| Member of the Constituent Assembly | |
| In office 1999–2000 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Noelí Pocaterra Hernández 18 September 1936 Zulia, Venezuela |
| Party | United Socialist |
| Education | Central University of Venezuela |
| Occupation | Activist, politician |
Noelí Pocaterra Hernández (born 18 September 1936) is a Wayúu Venezuelan PSUV politician and indigenous rights activist, member of the National Assembly and member of the constituent assemblies of 1999 and 2017.
Career
Noelí Pocaterra was born on 18 September 1936 in a Wayúu community in Zulia state. Her father, who was not indigenous, had to go into exile for ten years during the presidency of Marcos Pérez Jiménez and was imprisoned for forty-eight days in Bogotá on charges of conspiracy. As a child, Pocaterra and her brothers met Venezuelan president Rómulo Gallegos. She studied social work at the Central University of Venezuela when it was a technical school.[1][2]
In 1979, Pocaterra presided over Venezuela's first national indigenous congress.[3] She was one of few indigenous leaders appointed by President Hugo Chávez for the 1999 Constituent National Assembly, after being elected by the National Assembly of Indigenous Peoples.[4][5] Pocaterra was also member of 2017 Constituent National Assembly, and of the Amazonian Parliament and the Indigenous Parliament of America.[6]
Amid the Guyana-Venezuela crisis, in 2023 Pocaterra proposed incorporating recognition of the indigenous peoples of Guyana into the Organic Law for the Defense of Guyana Esequiba.[7]
References
- ^ González, Jesús (28 May 2025). "Chavismo en el Zulia obtiene 20 curules por circuitos regionales en la AN". La Verdad (Venezuela).
- ^ "Noelí Pocaterra: 'Cuando me encontré con Rómulo Gallegos, yo tenía cinco años'". Monte Ávila Editores.
- ^ Cañizález, Andrés (23 April 2001). "Entrevista a Noelí Pocaterra: La luchadora social de toda una vida". Agencia Latinoamericana de Información. Archived from the original on 6 July 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
- ^ "Líderes indígenas eligen a tres representantes para proceso histórico para reformar la Constitución de Venezuela". Amazon Watch. 19 July 1999.
- ^ "La Constitución de 1999 dignificó los derechos indígenas". Surpeme Tribunal of Justice. 15 December 2014.
- ^ "Consejo Directivo de FILAC propone condecorar a Noelí Pocaterra con la orden del Quinto Sol". Fund for the Development of Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean. 3 June 2024.
- ^ Cornivel, Margareth (7 December 2023). "Diputada Noelí Pocaterra propone incorporar a pueblos indígenas en Ley de la Guayana Esequiba". National Assembly of Venezuela.