Venezuelan society was recently impacted by the discriminatory and offensive comments issued by the then mayor, Ernesto Paraqueima, of the Simón Rodríguez municipality in the city of El Tigre in the state of Anzoátegui.
The aforementioned councilor had lashed out at children with Asperger’s when commenting on the realization of a mural that was not to his liking.
Paraqueima not only forgot to respect his investiture as mayor, his responsibilities and joint responsibilities as a citizen, but also violated the rights of those boys and girls that the State is obliged to guarantee.
timely action
The National Assembly and the Public Ministry did their work in an accelerated and forceful manner to guarantee those rights, through the application to Paraqueima of the Law for the Comprehensive Care of People with Autism Spectrum Disorders, whose article 32 establishes that “natural persons and legal, public and private that commit acts or behaviors of discrimination against people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and similar conditions and their relatives that directly or indirectly injure them, based on their diagnostic or health condition, incur in individual civil, administrative, disciplinary and criminal responsibility in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the laws of the Republic”.
The same law, in its article 30, determines that “people with Autism Spectrum Disorder and similar conditions, as well as their relatives, have the right to be treated with humanity and the respect that their dignity deserves, especially in personal relationships, in the access and care of public services provided by the public and private sectors”.
a herodian style
It seems to the aforementioned former mayor that his quasi-Herodian style made him forget that as part of the State he is violating his obligations, and at the same time, defrauding his constituents, ignoring human rights, which by the way, cut across the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. , since our country “is constituted in a democratic and social State of Law and Justice, which advocates as superior values of its legal system and its action, life, freedom, justice, equality, solidarity, democracy , social responsibility and, in general, the pre-eminence of human rights…”, according to article 2 of the document.
In the same Constitution, the rights of children and adolescents are addressed and the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Doctrine of Integral Protection are developed, fundamentally, in its Chapter V “On Social Rights and Families”, specifically in articles 75, 76 and 78.
without any justification
Although after what happened, Paraqueima offered a public apology: “I really believe that it was not the best way as I said it, as I expressed it, it was my style, I feel sorry and I apologize to all the people who were affected by my words”, ignorance of the law does not exempt him from responsibilities and must meet the demand of justice.
of the lopna
Another of the legal instruments that the aforementioned former mayor violated with his actions was the Organic Law for the Protection of Boys, Girls and Adolescents (Lopnna), in which there are fundamental principles of the Doctrine of Comprehensive Protection of this vulnerable sector of the population, For example, children and adolescents are full subjects of law, this means that they enjoy the rights that correspond to all people, but, in addition, they have specific and special rights derived from their condition, and that translate in specific duties for the family, society and the State.
Children and adolescents must be recognized and respected in their rights, in the exercise of their participation as active subjects of change within the spaces in which they develop.
The best interest of the child and adolescent is another of the principles by which all decisions made in relation to them must be oriented towards their well-being and full exercise of their rights.
The absolute priority establishes that in the actions of families, society and the State, the integral protection of children and adolescents must be privileged.
The co-responsibility of the State, of families, and of society in the comprehensive protection of children and adolescents is another of the principles against which Paraqueima violated.
It is still incomprehensible to many how it is that an authority with a supposed formation, with fourth-level studies, with the leadership of a mayor’s office could have committed such an outrage, then one might ask: Where are the values of the aforementioned former mayor as well as the recognition of the other? and respect for human dignity?, without including some of his public acts in which he also violated the rights of women, whom he disrespected on more than one occasion.
Ernesto Paraqueima’s actions call for much reflection and the need to continue consolidating and raising awareness among the Venezuelan population about the need to deepen their knowledge of the aforementioned legal instruments, and respect our fellow men, especially in a country like Venezuela, where as we previously mentioned, in its own Magna Carta human rights are embodied from beginning to end.
Fortunately, the State responded promptly to such barbarity, so that there are no more Paraqueimas in the territory of the Republic violating the rights of our children and adolescents, of our women, and even less at the head of public organizations, because As is well known, our children are the future of the country, and our women are the mothers of that future that we all must train and respect so that it is the best of all.
Signs of children with ASD
There are various characteristics of a person with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), some of these signs are:
-They often have problems with communication and social interaction.
-Avoid looking another person in the eye or do not maintain eye contact.
-Show delayed movement skills.
-Delay in cognitive or learning skills.
-Hyperactive, impulsive or distracted behavior.
-Anxiety, stress or excessive worry.
-Do not be afraid or fear more than normal.
-Have obsessive interests.
-Finally, it is important to note that children with ASD do not necessarily have all these characteristics.
