Venezuela - How to understand its social crisis

Presidential Chronology of Venezuela (1994-2019)

To understand the events that have occurred in recent years, let's review the presidential chronology of Venezuela in the last 25 years:

Rafael Caldera (February 1994 - February 1999)

Convergence Party

- Attorney General and President of the Chamber of Deputies

- Founder of COPEI

- Essayist, doctor of political science, deputy, professor

Chronology

Popularly elected between 1994 and 1995, the financial crisis worsened and several banks were intervened.

SENIAT is created in a context of low and stable oil prices.

In 1994 Caldera dismissed the 1992 military insurgents, leaving free Hugo Chávez among others.

In the economic sphere, the so-called Agenda Venezuela is applied, a program oriented towards the oil opening, the attraction of new investments to the country and control of the fiscal deficit, among other measures.

The anti politics and the criticism of the parties in their apogee.

Hugo Chávez (February 1999 - July 2000)

Movement 5th Republic
- Professional military
- Popularly elected.

Chronology In April there is a consultative referendum to call a Constituent Assembly and refound the State. The proposal triumphs.

In July, the election for said Constituent Assembly is held. 

In December, the work of the old National Congress ceased.

That same month, after the approval referendum, the 1999 Constitution was promulgated. Presidential term extended to 6 years with immediate re-election. 

The Recall Referendum is introduced, two new powers are introduced and the position of Vice President is reinstated, nonexistent in the 1961.

From January to August 2000, the National Assembly functions in a similar way to a delegated commission with few deputies, who will be responsible for continuing with the legislative affairs of the country and popularly called as the "Congresillo" (little congress).

According to the new Constitution, general elections are called again.

July 2000 - April 2002

Popularly elected.

The political map changes again; the old parties begin to decline while the new revolutionary forces begin to establish a new hegemony. 

In Congress the ruling party gets broad support.

Although Chávez is sworn in in August 2000, the Supreme Court of Justice indicates that the formal exercise of the sexennium began in January 2001.

The president requests an Enabling Law that is approved by Congress to legislate in different matters.

This generates strong criticism from the opposition that gathers around the CTV and Fedecamaras making a general strike in December.

Tensions are increasing and in April 2002 PDVSA management rejects government interference. A stoppage of activities begins. The CTV joins and Chavez dismisses several employees of the company on TV.

On April 11th there is a march that ends up arriving at the Miraflores Palace and several murders take place. 

The Armed Forces disregard the orders given by the president and demand the resignation which does not occur. 

Chávez is captured by the military and held in Fuerte Tiuna.

Pedro Carmona Estanga (April 2002)

Independent
- Economist of the UCAB.
- Professor, businessman, director of several companies, and president of
  Fedecamaras.

Chronology
Self-proclaimed president (de facto president).
Faced with a situation of confusion and uncertainty, the momentary emptiness of power is assumed by Estanga. 

It gives a coup by violating the constitution with his assumption and dissolving the constituted powers of the republic.

A part of the armed forces led by Isaías Baduel go to the rescue to the president and Estanga runs away.

Diosdado Cabello (April 2002)

Movement 5th Republic
- Professional military
- Vice president, minister, governor, deputy and president of the AN. 

Chronology
Vice President at that time, before the April coup goes into hiding but once government forces resume control returns to Miraflores.

He is sworn in as provisional president by the president of the AN until the return of Chávez on April 14th.

Hugo Chavez (April 2002 - January 2007)

Movement 5th Republic
- Professional Military 

Chronology In the following months, the Organization of American States installed a dialogue table between government and opposition that does not achieve great progress. Marches and pronouncements against the government take place.

In December 2002, an oil strike occurred that was carried out by other industrial sectors. 

Fails in January 2003 and the government gains control of PDVSA.

Polarization grows in the country and low levels of government popularity are registered.

In mid-2003 Chávez created the "Misiones" important social assistance programs that are responsible for helping the population from their food and education to the construction of housing. His popularity begins to increase.

In August 2004 the government triumphs in the recall referendum activated by the opposition.

Opposition leaders denounce fraud and adopt a strategy of not attending the next elections. 

As a result, the ruling party takes over most of the regional offices and the AN in 2005.

January 2007 - January 2013

Popularly elected 

He begins his new mandate tracing the new course of the nation towards the "Socialism of the 21st century".

The expropriation and nationalization policy was intensified in 2007 with the purchases of CANTV and electricity from Caracas. 

RCTV must leave the air because its concession is not renewed.

In December of 2007 a project of constitutional reform is promoted that looks for the update of the Magna Carta in the way towards the Socialism. 

It considered, among other things, the introduction of the communes and the immediate and unlimited re-election of the president. The government loses by narrow margin.

Inflation in the country begins to be a problem and high crime rates are registered. The private initiative loses space in front of state companies.

Some opposition parties consider a strategic alliance creating the Table of the Democratic Unit in January 2008 as an opposition block.

Later other political organizations were incorporated. 

Chávez creates a unique party that brings together different forces of the left: United Socialist Party of Venezuela in March. 

The political polarization is based in the country between these two blocks. 

Popular reform of the 1999 constitution was approved in February 2009. This new proposal focused mainly on allowing indefinite re-election in all elected positions including the president.

Corruption continues in the country as one of the worst scourges. Also the inefficiency in some state entities. (Case PDVAL May 2010).

Crisis in the energy sector between 2010-2011 leaves recurrent failures in the supply of electricity.

The policy of housing construction continues, the underground lines are expanded in Caracas and the construction of other undergrounds in Valencia, Maracaibo and other cities begins. New roads and bridges are also built.

New public universities like the UBV are created. In terms of health, the "Barrio Adentro" module network is expanded and other health centers are completed. 

Creation of the Bolivarian National Police as a mechanism to fight against insecurity.

January 2013 - March 2013
PSUV

Popularly elected, however, due to his cancer travels to Cuba suffers to be treated. Temporarily in charge of the presidency Nicolás Maduro, vice president of the moment. 

In case of death, Chávez designates Maduro as his successor.

Chávez dies in March.

Nicolas Maduro (March 2013 - April 2013)

PSUV
- Militant of the Socialist League and left groups.
- Driver and union leader of the Caracas Metro.
- Deputy, president of the AN, Chancellor and Vice President.
- The TSJ ratifies Maduro as provisional president and early elections are called.

Chronology
April 2013

Popularly elected to complete the period of his predecessor.
Presents the Plan of the Nation (plan proposed by Chávez in the 2012 elections) as a road map of the nation towards Socialism.

The problems of product shortages, high inflation and insecurity grow.

In February 2014, peaceful protests against the country's major problems involving university students were unleashed in different states of the country.

During March and April the demonstrations continue and in some regions of the country they become violent with arrests and abuses by the Armed Forces and vandalism by some groups. 

Several protesters die in the course of these events.

In April a UNASUR commission together with the Vatican offer themselves as mediators for a dialogue between the political opposition and the government. 


On the other side, the students continue on the streets following their own agenda of protest against the government.

Nicolás Maduro is not the only problem in Venezuela

Neither Castro's Cuba, nor the Colombian armed conflict or any of the dictatorships of the Southern Cone caused the departure, in less than two years, of more than two million people. But leaving Nicolás Maduro is not the solution to the Venezuelan crisis.

Neither the exit, nor the overthrow, nor the death of Nicolás Maduro would solve the Venezuelan crisis in the short term. The country has not only experienced a process of democratic deterioration, but also the dismantling of the State and the disruption of its social relations.

Opposition leaders have focused their speech on the urgent need to remove Nicolás Maduro and the ruling group, arguing that the humanitarian crisis makes the support of the Chavez regime unviable and that their departure will lead to the reconstruction of the country. Some predict that it will not reach the end of the year.

And it is understandable, the opposition political leaders speak to a desperate people in the midst of the Chavista apocalypse, they also speak to an international community that until very recently was silent about what was happening in Venezuela. Fixing the exit of Nicolás Maduro as the central objective of their speech is valid and even necessary, since there are still a few sympathizers or accomplices of the first Latin American dictatorship of the 21st century.

But Nicolás Maduro is not the only cause of the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela; on the contrary, the crisis is the result of almost 20 years of a speech that sought to divide society between good and bad, between a corrupt elite and an oppressed people. A humanitarian crisis caused by the implementation of a political, economic and social model based on socialism and promoted by Hugo Chávez, who even arrogated to himself the right to appoint his successor.

The damage that Chavez did to Venezuela is not limited only to the appointment of Maduro. For years the institutions and organizations of the State were dismantled, but even relations between citizens and the different instances of civil society were altered. The Bolivarian Revolution not only damaged the State and the political and economic spaces of the country, but also damaged the family, friends, community, society and all of Venezuela.

In a few places in the world the disaster has been evidenced as in Venezuela. The material and social decline of the country is difficult to calculate. Not only because of the lack of official figures, whose absence can not hide the deterioration of the quality of life of the people, but because the only diagnosis is already a complex task. Despite the efforts made today by different civil society organizations to document what is happening, the real dimension of the problems is hard to calculate, because the government not only refuses to make information public, but conceals and lies, without caring the risk to which it exposes its citizens.


As if it were a war, a natural disaster or the proliferation of a plague, Venezuelan citizens have been forced to leave their country. The deterioration of the quality of life, the political instrumentalization of the economic crisis and the discretionary use of the organizations of the state apparatus to proscribe and persecute, have led millions of citizens to leave Venezuela. None of the right or left dictatorships that Latin America experienced in the 20th century caused a diaspora like the one that the brother country lives. Neither Castro's Cuba, nor the Colombian conflict or any of the dictatorships of the Southern Cone caused the departure, in less than two years, of more than two million people.

A diaspora that accumulates more than 10% of the population not only evidences the disaster that Chavismo has caused, but also intensifies the crisis and hinders its possible solution. The millions of Venezuelans who are outside the country will not return as soon as the dictator falls, a significant number of them will never return.

Maduro intensified the crisis, because at least in the time of Chávez, the project was pretended to be democratic, so the elections were advantageous. With Maduro the forms are no longer taken care of and the darkest face of the chavista repressive apparatus was known: deaths, kidnappings, threats, tortures, persecutions ... The repression in all its forms is what characterizes the ruling group; the systematic violation of human rights as an instrument to remain in power.

In order to rebuild Venezuela, Maduro's exit will be necessary, but this does not mean that with the departure, overthrow or death of Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela will be rebuilt. Some projections affirm that USD 50,000 to USD 60,000 million are needed to begin the reconstruction process, to which a minimum average of USD 3,000 million in annual aid is added to begin to reverse the humanitarian crisis and even some projections affirm that for the recovery of the oil industry would require at least six years to a decade with annual investments of approximately USD 20,000 million, something difficult to obtain in a world in which oil is losing its energy leadership.


Everything indicates that the process of recovery will not be easy or quick: reversing the damage of chavismo can take the same as it has been in power, almost twenty years, or more.

Bibliographic references
- Arias, A. - History of Venezuela
- Cadena Carriles - Notes History of Venezuela
- Venezuela Yours
- Reference for business
- La Nación newspaper (Argentina)
- El País newspaper (Spain)
- El Espectador newspaper (Colombia)

Who is Juan Guaidó ?

Juan Gerardo Guaidó Márquez was born on July 28th, 1983. He graduated from the "Los Corales" Institute of Bachelor of Science in 2000. In 2007 he finished his undergraduate studies at the Andrés Bello Catholic University of Caracas, obtaining the title of Industrial Engineer.

During those years, Guaidó actively participated as a management member of the Engineering Student Center and he was recognized as the Ucabista Integral Student for his outstanding career in the academic and extracurricular areas during the university career. He was a representative of the Faculty of Engineering before the General Council of Student Representatives (COGRES), member of the Chair of Honor, UCAB Leadership Program and Founder member and General Secretary of the General Council of Student Representatives (COGRES), among many other academic activities he did.

After leaving this house of study he dedicated to continue his training and he obtained two postgraduate degrees, both in public management, one from the George Washington University / UCAB and another from IESA.

Outside the academic field, he made a full commitment to Venezuela, forming part of several important initiatives within and outside Vargas State, assuming various responsibilities in different areas of action. Among them he was highlighted as part of the Regional Campaign in Vargas State 2008, founding member and National Executive Secretary of the Youth for Social Democracy, founder of the organization Quiero Paz (I want Peace), until in 2009 he undertook the dream of creating Popular Will, a national party with a group of young people and Leopoldo López, of which today he is coordinator of the Vargas State and National Organization Manager.

Juan Guaido Twitter

Sworn the New Directive of the National Assembly

Date: January 05th 2019

The deputy Juan Guaidó (Voluntad Popular-Vargas) was sworn in as President of the National Assembly (2019-2020) during the parliamentary session held on January 5th.

Guaidó was sworn in with the right hand on the Constitution and his first words highlighted the victory of having consolidated the union of the Assembly, which today resists and keeps its doors open thanks to the determination and constant work of its deputies and workers, he said.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by ambassadors, business managers and international bodies representing the diplomatic corps accredited to the government, such as Greece, Uruguay, Brazil, the United States, Canada, Peru, Guatemala, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Spain , Chile, Poland, France, Holland, Portugal, India, European Union, United Kingdom, Honduras, Japan, Ecuador, Germany, Italy and representatives of the Holy See.

Juan Guaidó: I swear to formally assume the powers of the National Executive as President in charge of Venezuela

Date: January 23rd 2019

Caracas. With a mobilization made from 9 points of the Capital City, the Venezuelans marched in the company of leaders of various political parties, to the Juan Pablo II Plaza, located at the height of Francisco de Miranda Avenue in the Chacao municipality, where from a platform the President of the National Assembly, deputy Juan Guaidó swore to formally assume the powers of the National Executive as President in charge of Venezuela.

"Today we take another step and to avoid any doubt, today I take the step with you. Today, January 23rd, 2019, before God Almighty, I swear to formally assume the powers of the National Executive as President in charge of Venezuela. The whole country is sworn in to carry the message to the National Armed Forces (FAN), to defend our Constitution to restore the freedom of Venezuelans. 

""We know that this will have consequences, but we will not allow it to deflate, because even though we are in dictatorship, we know that a united people will never be defeated and we must clarify that this is not about doing anything in parallel, because we have the support of the people in the street, so that those who usurp power today I tell them that we will continue until we achieve the prosperity of Venezuela. This movement is unstoppable. 

"The sector of the population that still supports the usurping regime, told them that "they are not going to twist anyone's arm" and that, on the contrary, what they are looking for is to shake hands with them, because in their opinion these have been deceived and defrauded by Nicolás Maduro and his corrupt government.

"For a long time we asked ourselves if it was worth the struggle and the insistence and I tell them that if we continue, we go out to the street and achieve freedom, all the sacrifice will be worth it, because leaving today was worth it, we told the whole world that we do not want the usurper. The silence with which we started this year is broken today with shouts and no more silence. In our hearts we have the faith that we will achieve it. 

"Finally, Guaidó said that today there were more than 53 marches held in parallel throughout the national territory and thanked the response of the convocation held throughout the country, affirming that Venezuela today, January 23rd, a symbolic date for democracy, has recovered the hope and vision of the future.

Guaidó demands the departure of Cubans from the National Armed Forces and authorizes the presence of the US Embassy in Venezuela

Date: January 25th 2019

Caracas. The president in charge of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, said during a press conference, held together with the citizens in the Plaza Bolívar de Chacao, that in two days the new presidency in charge has achieved what the Nicolás Maduro's usurper regime could not do in 6 years, which is to authorize humanitarian aid for the country.

"We said that when we had the national and international support we would take the step and we did. The recognition of the countries of the world in favor of the Venezuelan struggle, means trust and legitimacy. In just 2 days, we achieved what they did not do in 6 years, authorize humanitarian aid and although the usurping regime tries to sow doubt about our legitimacy, when hope comes, there is no one to stop it. 

"At the beginning of the act the President in charge of Venezuela, made a minute of silence in honor of those killed because of the repression of the dictatorship in recent days and sent a condolences to their family and friends on behalf of the entire national parliament .

"Military brothers is with you, it was time to side with the Constitution and Venezuela, you have to decide whether or not to allow the entry of humanitarian aid for the country and thereby recognize this Government. It is time for Cuba to leave the command posts of the National Armed Forces and at this point I clarify something: Cuban brother, you are welcome to stay in our land, but not in the command posts, those should leave them now. 

"Guaidó invited US officials to stay in Venezuela and reported that the American Embassy stays and keeps working with the doors open. Over the announcements of the usurper Nicolás Maduro, asking the Venezuelan diplomats in the United States to return to the country, he urged them to ignore the order and stay in US territory supporting the Venezuelans who live there.

"I just spoke with one of the officials and she told me: to the President order, I stay at the embassy to continue working for Venezuela. Our only framework is the Constitution, because it is the only one that protects and guarantees human rights. We are not only going to exercise the functions in the street, but we are doing our work for Venezuela. We are working on the Country Plan, which we have been working on for a long time. 

"The person in charge of the nation announced that in the next few hours they will make announcements aimed at protecting assets of corruption frozen in other countries and advanced the possibility of starting to use them to solve the crisis that crosses the country, initially through NGOs and organizations like Caritas, the Red Cross and the Catholic Church.

He also invited citizens to download the "Amnesty Law and constitutional guarantees for the military and civilians who collaborate and have helped with the restoration of constitutional order", print it and deliver it to military personnel who know or work near your homes.

"Leave the Law under the door. This is a non violent civil action, unprecedented, where we say come here, here there is future, opportunity and homeland. Maduro does not protect anyone. I am sure that within the National Armed Forces they have the same feeling that we do because they are also Venezuelans. 

"Finally he announced that next week a large mobilization is expected and the details will be unveiled this Sunday. He assured that they will return to the streets until the cessation of the usurpation, transitional government and free elections are achieved.

"This is not thanks to me, it is thanks to all of us who have fought for this, like Leopoldo López, Juan Requesens and all the political prisoners. More than a liberator, I prefer to be a public servant for you. Here there is already an established route. If they dare to kidnap power again, I ask you to keep us on the road, in the street peacefully fighting for freedom".

Source: National Assembly of Venezuela

CSA - Nuevo Presidente Encargado de Venezuela (23.Ene.2019)

Sulphur 2020 (IMO Regulation) - What is and how it would affect International Trade

The regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution of Ships seek to control the air emissions of ships and their contribution to local and global air pollution.

The current global limit for the sulphur content of the fuel oil of ships is 3.50% m/m (mass per mass). The regulations to reduce sulphur oxide emissions have introduced a new global limit for the sulphur content of ships, and from January  1st 2020, the new global sulphur content limit will be 0.50% m/m.

Ships can also meet SOx emission requirements using approved equivalent methods, such as exhaust gas cleaning systems or "scrubbers," which "clean up" emissions before they are released into the atmosphere.

Naturally, such compliance requirements entail additional costs and uncertainty in terms of fuel costs for shipments and shipping lines.

Although the BAF surcharge is designed to recover the increases in costs related to the bunker, these compliance costs have not been covered by any of the shipping companies.

Important container lines have already commented that these compliance costs will have to be transferred to customers and/or trade through the implementation of new fuel surcharges or an adjustment to existing ones, which may vary depending on the commercial routes.

Obviously, the first reaction of the international trade has not been favorable.

But do the shipping lines have any other option, since these regulations are aimed at improving the environment and reducing its impact for all?

New International Maritime Organization Regulation

IMO has set a global limit of sulphur content in the fuel oil used on board ships of 0.50% mass / mass as of January 1st, 2020. The implementation of this limit will significantly reduce the amount of sulphur oxide coming from the ships, which will imply important health and environmental benefits for the world, particularly for the populations near the ports.

When did the IMO adopt the rules to control air pollution caused by ships ?

IMO has worked to reduce the harmful effects of maritime transport on the environment since the 1960s. Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL Convention) was adopted in 1997 to address atmospheric pollution caused by maritime transport.

What are the limits of sulphur content provided in the rules ?

The global limit of the sulphur content of the current fuel oil of ships is 3.50% m/m. The new global limit will be 0.50% mass / mass and will be applied from January 1st, 2020.

Can this date change ?

The date appears in the MARPOL treaty. So it can only be modified by an amendment to Annex VI of the MARPOL Convention. This would require an amendment proposal to be submitted by a Member State that is a Party to Annex VI. The amendment proposal would then be circulated and finally adopted by the MEPC. An amendment to the MARPOL Convention is required to be circulated for at least six months prior to adoption and to enter into force after at least 16 months after adoption. Given that Parties in Annex VI of the MARPOL Convention decided in October 2016 to implement in the 2020 term, a proposal of this type is not expected to be presented.

So, can implantation be delayed ?

No, there can be no change in the implementation date of January 1st, 2020 as it is too late to modify the date and for a new date to take effect before January 1st, 2020.

However, IMO Member States will work in relevant IMO technical bodies to address all issues that may arise with respect to ensuring consistent implementation.

When was the date of January 1st, 2020 decided ?

The date of January 1st 2020 was established in the rules adopted in 2008. However, a provision was adopted requiring IMO to conduct a review on the availability of low sulphur fuel to use by ships, with the aim to assist Member States in determining whether the new lower limit to the global limit of sulphur emissions from international maritime transport could effectively enter into force on January 1st 2020 or be deferred until January 1st 2025.

The IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 70), in October 2016, decided the limit of 0.50% will apply as of January 1st, 2020.

What will this new maximum limit mean for ships ?

With the new maximum limit, vessels must use on board fuel oil with a sulphur content not exceeding 0.50% mass / mass, compared to the current limit of 3.50%, which has been in force since January 1st 2012.

The interpretation of "fuel oil used on board" includes that used in main and auxiliary engines and in boilers.

How can ships comply with low sulphur emission standards ?

Vessels can comply with the prescription using fuel oil with a low sulphur content.

In addition, an increasing number of ships also use gas as fuel, since the emissions of sulphur oxides they produce are of negligible nature, which has been recognized in the elaboration of the International Code for ships that use gas or other low-flash point fuels (IGF Code), which was adopted in 2015.

Another alternative fuel is methanol, which is used in some short sea shipping services.

Vessels can also meet the requirements for SOx emissions by using some of the approved equivalent methods, such as exhaust gas cleaning systems, or "scrubbers" that "clean up" emissions before they are released into the atmosphere. 

What controls will be put in place once the global limit comes into force ?

Ships that have fuel oil for use on board ships must obtain a fuel delivery note, which will establish the sulphur content of the fuel oil supplied. Samples may be taken for verification.

Each Flag State will have to issue to ships an International Air Pollution Prevention Certificate (IAPP Certificate).

This certificate includes a section indicating that the vessel uses fuel oil with a sulphur content that does not exceed the applicable limit value as recorded in the fuel delivery notes, or that uses an equivalent provision.

Port States and riverbanks may use supervision by the Port State to verify that the ship complies with the rules. They could also use surveillance - for example, aerial surveillance - to evaluate smoke columns and other techniques to identify possible infractions.

What sanctions will be applied in case of non-compliance ?

Sanctions will be established individually by the Parties to the MARPOL Convention as flag States and port States. The IMO does not establish sanctions or fines: it is up to each Party.

What additional measures will be put in place to encourage a consistent  implementation ?

The implementation belongs to the field of competence and responsibility of the Administrations of flag States (States governing ports / coastal States). Ensuring uniform and effective implementation of the sulphur content limit of 0.50% mass / mass by 2020 is a high priority.

What is currently the average sulphur content in the fuel oil used on board the ships ?

IMO monitors the sulphur content of the fuel oil used on board ships worldwide. Samples are taken of residual fuel oil (the "heavy" fuel normally used in ships), as well as of the distillate fuel ("light" fuel, with low sulphur content, which is normally used in emission control areas that have limits stricter for sulphur emissions).

The latest figures showed that the average sulphur content of the residual fuels analyzed in 2016 was 2.58%. The average sulphur content worldwide of the distillate fuels was 0.08%.

Where can I find more information related to the sulphur rules ?

Find more information here: 

IMO - Pollution prevention

Source: International Maritime Organization (IMO)

Vikings - Norse Gods and War (2013-)

Blog Rating: 9.25 out of 10

Vikings is a very well filmed series that manages to reflect in a very real way the brutality and beliefs of those times. The story of Ragnar Lothbrok, a Norse farmer who succeeds in becoming the King of the Vikings. Together with his family and his men he achieves many victories in the historic lands of Great Britain and France.

Katheryn Winnick as Lagertha

Blood and looting are constant in the battles to conquer new territories, but Ragnar tasks his friend Floki with building a ship capable of sailing long distances to the mysterious West.

Ragnar recruits his brother Rollo with whom he will secretly gather a crew for a journey into the unknown.

Gustaf Skarsgard as Floki

The shots of the Viking ship at sea and the natural landscapes are impressive.

The Vikings are pagan believers in the gods Thor, Odin, and others, so their assault on a monastery on the outskirts of England leaves them baffled.

Clive Standen as Rollo

The participation of a monk named Athelstan whom he took as a slave, will keep Ragnar in continuous religious debate between the beliefs of his people and this new religious thought.

Despite all its warfare and bloodshed, Vikings is also a story of family and sisterhood, managing to capture the love and affection between Ragnar and his wife, Lagertha, a respected warrior in her own right.

Trailer Vikings

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Feminism - From its beginnings to the 60s

* Para leer versión en español, seleccionar idioma en traductor (costado derecho de la página)
* To read the version in another language, select language in translator (right side of the page)

The purest definition of feminism says that it is an ideology that defends that women should have the same rights as men.

On another level, which is a social and political movement that began formally at the end of the 18th century, in which women as a human group struggle against the oppression, domination, and exploitation of which they have been and are being targeted by the collective males.

In France and England, at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, the idea began to take shape that women were not recognized as deserving in many aspects and that the inferiority condition of women was not a natural matter but that it was the product of poor and limited access to education.

During the French Revolution (1789) the women fought hand in hand with the revolutionary men for the maxims that were intoned those days: «Freedom, equality, fraternity». They participated in political speeches, in republican clubs, in the march to Versailles to capture the monarchy and in the taking of the Bastille.

The citizens also presented in 1789, before the French Assembly, the notebooks of reforms, in which they asked for the right to vote, the reform of the institution of marriage and the custody of children, as well as access to education.

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)

In England the most relevant figure of this moment was Mary Wollstonecraft, considered as the woman who started the feminist movement in 1792. This vindication focused mainly on economic and political rights: it also claimed the independence of women against men, in particular, in front of the husbands to whom women were totally submitted physically and legally, and went further: it demanded the equal access of women to education.

A period of change and progress was followed by a period of regression: not only were they not granted the rights they claimed, but they were oppressed even more. In 1793 the women's clubs were closed, the free association of women was forbidden by not allowing meetings of more than five of them, they were denied access to political assemblies and, in 1795, the Napoleonic Code established the obedience of women to husband within the marriage contracts. This code, as well as its copies in other countries, was valid for more than one hundred years.

From the mid-nineteenth century until the end of the Second World War, although many aspects were claimed, the main claim of women in this period was the right to vote and political participation.

On the other hand, liberal feminism sought political reforms that would allow women to choose and be elected: they did not question the political system, what they asked was to participate in it. Their demands focused on obtaining equality in issues such as the right to property, the disposition of their property and wages (which, although they earned, they were managed by their parents or husbands), equality of rights and treatment within marriage and, from the second half of the 19th century, the right to vote. Women's suffrage gave birth to what was probably the greatest feminist movement in history: suffragism.

Suffragists Parade down 5th Avenue (1917)

In England the suffragettes emerged; women of upper middle class, civil rights activists, who sought the bulk of their affiliates among the female working class exploited in the factories. The most outstanding names of this period are that of Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters, Sylvia and Christabel.

The suffragists took the movement to the terrain of activism and demonstrated an enormous power of association and struggle: their actions ranged from non-violence, through demonstrations, pamphlets, rallies and chaining in public places to more radical actions such as breaking street furniture, commercial shop windows, detonations to cut communications, etc. that not only led to the split of the movement, but to the detention of thousands of them.

By the beginning of the twentieth century the two movements, the radical and the moderate, joined forces and progress was made in the race for the female vote. English women won the vote in 1918, for those over 30 years. Men could vote at 25, but women between 25 and 30 were considered too 'frivolous' to exercise the vote. In 1925 they obtained the rights over their children, until then totally in the hands of the husband, and in 1928, the vote on equal terms with men.

Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928)

By its own ideology, feminism found part of its path alongside socialism. The women of this movement asked, in addition to equality between the sexes, equality between social classes.

Socialist feminists criticized liberal feminism as a 'bourgeois' feminism, although they also participated in suffrage movements calling for women's votes.

Once the equality in the vote was achieved, between the beginning of the First World War and the beginning of the 60s the feminist movements lost strength and were relegated to the background.

At the outbreak of World War I, most women abandoned their own claims and joined the national cause in which they collaborated, ironically, as labour especially in factories; in those positions that men had left empty when they marched to war.

During the Second World War, women ended up forgetting and abandoning all struggle and vindication as a collective, and many of them turned back into labour. 

Once the war was over, they were stripped of the work they had done. Men returned and women were removed from work outside home; the governments considered that these positions had to return to men to recover the existing balance before the war.

The fifties created a prototype of femininity that spread through television, films and the media. And that was exported abroad as something wonderful. Women could not ask for more, because they had everything: state-of-the-art appliances, houses with gardens in residential neighborhoods, modern cars, magazines that cared for them and taught them how to take care of their children in a scientific way and how to run the domestic economy practically professional. They were the queens of their houses.

In the decade of the 60s, the anti-system, pacifist and anti-racist movements arose due to the dissatisfaction with the Vietnam War. New feminist currents appeared that now fought for social and cultural equality.

For all this, the idea of women as a sexual stereotype in the media, in art and in advertising should end. The abolition of patriarchy was requested, since it was concluded that beyond the right to vote, education and other achievements of the first feminists, patriarchy was the social structure that caused inequalities and that continued to establish hierarchies that benefited men.

The debate on female sexuality, violence against women, abortion and contraception began.