Ana Mercedes Díaz Cardozo
 |
Ana Mercedes Díaz Cardozo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Director General of Political Parties of the National Electoral Council of Venezuela | |
| In office 2003–2004 | |
| Prime Minister of Asgardia | |
| In office 2018–2020 | |
| Head | Igor Ashurbeyli |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 March 1960 Caracas, Venezuela |
| Nationality | |
| Alma mater | Universidad Santa María, Universidad Central de Venezuela |
Ana Mercedes Díaz Cardozo (born March 24, 1960, in Caracas, Venezuela) is a Venezuelan lawyer and elector. From 2018 to 2020, she was the Prime Minister of the Space Kingdom of Asgardia. From 1991 to 2004, she was deputy director-general and then director-general of political parties of the National Electoral Council of Venezuela.[citation needed]
Biography[edit]
Professional career[edit]
From 1979 to 2004, Díaz worked at the National Electoral Council of Venezuela (previously the Supreme Electoral Council), the highest Venezuelan electoral body. In 1989, she began working for the council's Directorate of Political Parties. In 1991, she was appointed as the deputy director-general, and in 2003 she was appointed as the director-general.[1][2][3][4][5]
In 2004, Díaz was fired from her position at the National Electoral Council after speaking out about election fraud in the Venezuelan recall referendum. She then emigrated to the United States, where she lives as of 2004.[2][3] Díaz has said that fraud, falsifications, and other violations of the law are common in the Venezuelan election process.[6]
In October 2017, Díaz joined several Venezuelan advocates and lawyers, among them Blanca Mármol, in an address to the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela. They demanded that preparations for the upcoming regional elections cease due to an unconstitutional change of the election date.[7] Regional elections were initially to be held on December 10, 2017,[8] but during the 5th session of the 2017 Constituent Assembly of Venezuela, it was suggested to move the elections forward to October 2017.[9] October 15, 2017 was finally selected as the date for regional elections.[10]
In recent years, Díaz has spoken at conferences regarding democracy and fair elections in the United States, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, Ecuador, Italy, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Spain.[citation needed]
Díaz has also worked on elections outside of Venezuela. She was an independent observer of the Ecuadorian general election in February 2017. She spoke out about falsifications and fraud during the elections. Her opinions were criticized by the National Electoral Council of Ecuador.[2][11][12][13] In 2018, Díaz warned of possible election fraud in Spain after changes to the electoral system were proposed.[14][15][16]
Government of Asgardia[edit]
On 24 June 2018, Díaz was appointed as Prime Minister of Asgardia, a newly created Space Nation. She directed the Asgardian Executive Body, setting the priorities of the government and organizing its workflow. She resigned in February 27th, 2020, and went on to serve as assessor to the Head of the Nation.[17][18]
Research and publications[edit]
Díaz studies and analyzes socialism in the 21st century. Her work investigates how countries respond to socialist economies, how electoral processes are carried out in socialist nations, and what this means for democracies in the Americas and worldwide.[5][14][19]
She has two publications related to her personal experiences in the electoral field. The first is Debemos Cobrar (We Must Collect), published in Venezuela in 2007.[20] The second is 72 Horas en Ecuador: Un Milagro de Dios (72 Hours in Ecuador: A Miracle of God), published in Ecuador in 2018.
Personal life[edit]
Díaz married in 1984 and divorced in 2006. She has a daughter and son, both Venezuelans, who are citizens of and live in the United States. In August 2012 Díaz became an American citizen.[2] She lives in Florida.
In November 2020 Díaz endorsed Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election.[citation needed]
References[edit]
- ^ Bloque democrático no aparece registrado como partido en el CNE. — National Electoral Council, 13 November 2003
- ^ a b c d Sugey Hajjar. Ana Mercedes Díaz: Los partidos deben ser los protectores del pueblo. — El Universo, 18 February 2017
- ^ a b Ana Mercedes Díaz: “Ahora les llegó Sánchez con Iglesias, no les auguro nada bueno”. — AZperiodistas, 23 October 2018
- ^ Observadora electoral venezolana se refugia en embajada de EEUU en Ecuador Archived 2019-04-06 at the Wayback Machine. — Biendateao, 18 February 2017
- ^ a b Andrea Peña. “Dicen que España no es Venezuela igual que yo decía que Venezuela no era Cuba”. — Actuall, 19 November 2018
- ^ Jesús Mitchelle Torres. Los nombres y apellidos de la “falsa oposición venezolana” que disfrazan de democracia al régimen chavista. — Periodista Digital, 9 November 2018
- ^ Federico Cué Barberena. Elecciones en Venezuela: Inician en medio de visiones enfrentadas de la realidad. — France 24, 15 October 2017
- ^ Alexandra Ulmer, Corina Pons. As Venezuela unrest spreads, Maduro presses on with plans to rewrite charter. — Reuters, 24 May 2017
- ^ Constituyente cubana apobó adelantar las elecciones regionales para el mes de octubre. — La Patilla, 12 August 2017
- ^ Venezuela sets October 15 for regional vote favoring opposition. — Fox News, 11 September 2017
- ^ Alfonso Albán. Pozo asegura que Ana Mercedes Díaz está vinculada a una organización política Archived 2019-04-06 at the Wayback Machine. — Diario Expreso, 17 February 2017
- ^ Una observadora electoral se refugió en la embajada de EEUU. — Télam, 18 February 2017
- ^ Francesco Manetto. El candidato de Correa encabeza el escrutinio con dudas sobre la segunda vuelta. — El País, 20 February 2017
- ^ a b Ángel Fernández. Salvemos Venezuela del comunismo cubano. — Actuall, 10 January 2019
- ^ La venezolana Ana Mercedes Díaz expone las «manipulaciones desde el poder» al Club de los Viernes de León. — Leonoticias, 10 November 2018
- ^ El CMI Julián Sánchez El Charro acoge la conferencia sobre ‘España, en riesgo de fraude electoral’. — Salamanca 24 Horas, 9 November 2018
- ^ Government of Asgardia. — Asgardia.Space
- ^ Prosperity in the stars. — Room, The Space Journal, Issue No. 4 (18), 2018
- ^ Sergio Jorge. Pedro Sánchez traerá armas y estrategias de su viaje a Cuba. — La Nueva Crónica, 11 November 2018
- ^ Debemos Cobrar by Ana Mercedes Díaz Archived 2020-09-19 at the Wayback Machine. — Caballo de madera, 28 February 2014