Julio Borges
Julio Andrés Borges Junyent (born October 22, 1969 in Caracas , Venezuela ) is a Venezuelan politician . He is the leader of the Primero Justicia ("Justice First") party. From January 2017 to January 2018 he was President of the National Assembly . He has been living in exile in Colombia since 2018 .
resume
Borges graduated from Andrés Bello Catholic University - a well-known Jesuit- run private university in Venezuela - in 1992 . In 1994 he completed a master's degree in political philosophy and social philosophy at Boston College in the USA , and in 1996 another master's degree in political science and Latin American studies at Oxford University in England . The Catholic University of Andrés Bello appointed him honorary professor .
In 1998 Borges entered public life in his country when he produced and hosted his own program “Justicia para Todos” (“Justice for All”) for the television station RCTV . Various disputes were featured on this television show, and Borges played the "justice of the peace" who eventually passed a verdict. The show was very popular, but it was also criticized for depicting violence at a time when children were watching TV.
At this time Borges joined the " Primero Justicia " movement . In 1999 he was set up by this organization for the elections to the constituent assembly and finally also elected.
Political career
In 2000 "Primero Justicia" became a political party. Borges became a member of the National Assembly for Miranda State and in the following years a member of various influential committees and commissions.
Borges has been a vocal critic of the government since Hugo Chavez became President of Venezuela . He and his party backed the April 2002 coup .
His party openly supported the "oil strike" in 2002/2003. Borges has been accused by the government of assisting urban riots, conspiring against the government and being an agent of the CIA . These allegations were rejected by Borges.
Borges was one of the biggest supporters of the vote of no confidence in Chavez in 2004. After Chavez won, he accused him of fraudulent election . After the regional elections lost by the “Primero Justicia” in the same year, he repeated his allegations of fraud.
On May 27, 2005, Borges announced his candidacy for the elections for President of Venezuela, which took place on December 3, 2006. The motto of the election campaign was "Hacia el Progreso Popular" ("For the progress of the people"). Borges withdrew his candidacy on August 9, 2006 in favor of Manuel Rosales (governor of Zulia state) during the primaries .
After the victory of the opposition alliance Mesa de la Unidad Democrática , to which Primero Justicia belongs, in the parliamentary elections in 2015 , Borges was initially the spokesman for the parliamentary majority bloc. In January 2017 he took over the office of President of the National Assembly.
He mentioned in the New York Times the steps taken by the government to disempower this Parliament and undermine democracy; the subsequent upcoming regional elections were illegally postponed by the regime, and the recall referendum against the president was suspended. Thereupon the Supreme Court, controlled by the Chavists, went further than ever with its repeal of parliamentary decisions and immediately took over the tasks of parliament itself. This step was partly reversed due to a lot of public and international pressure. When Borges called on the army to stand by the constitution, Maduro demanded that Borges be arrested for "calling for a coup".
In June 2017, Borges stated that the proposed constituent assembly would only add to the crisis; what President Maduro announced was nothing else than admitting that Venezuela was under dictatorship . He again urged the armed forces to listen carefully when the President spoke.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cuba Has Hijacked Venezuela , New York Times, April 10, 2019
- ↑ Weapons for 500,000 Militiamen , Die Zeit, April 20, 2017
- ↑ Borges: Palabras de Maduro son la aceptación de la dictadura en Venezuela , El Nacional, June 27, 2017
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Borges, Julio |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Borges Junyent, Julio Andrés (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Venezuelan politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 22, 1969 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Caracas , Venezuela |