Who is Ernesto Paraqueima? Opposition mayor arrested after criticizing mural made by children with Asperger’s in Venezuela

Controversial, irreverent. Sports enthusiast, sociologist by profession and presents himself as a university professor. Twice elected mayor of the municipality of Simón Rodríguez, located in the state of Anzoátegui, in eastern Venezuela.

It is Ernesto Paraqueima, arrested on Thursday, May 4, 2023 after sparking a wave of rejection for comments about a mural designed to expose children with Asperger’s.

The municipality that ruled Paraqueima until Thursday afternoon is best known for the capital El Tigre. And there work was done on the mural that was criticized today by the detainees. After knowing his words, they charged him with hate crimes.

The case received resonance in Venezuela’s prosecution service and National Assembly. The consequences were international.

After issuing an arrest warrant against Paraqueima, the Attorney General of that country himself, Tarek William Saab, spread the photo of the arrested man. He later presented a video of Paraqueima boarding a plane to be transferred to Caracas.

His arrest comes as less than two months have passed since the Comprehensive Care for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (TEA) Act, which was passed by parliament last March.

He was arrested for “inciting hatred” against children with autism after being charged with violating the aforementioned law.

What did Paraqueima say about the mural?

In an audio, which the mayor did not deny, on the contrary, he said it was more than a month old, he expressed his strong opinion about the mural in the city of El Tigre.

The mural is a landscape of mountains with a blue sky in the background and a rainbow with white doves.

Who painted that?, who painted that so horribly? (…) They tell me it was the people of the little Asperger children. Who painted it, the children, what did they paint it with? with the legs? (…) what a horrible, terrifying thing!

Ernesto Paraqueima

One of the first to respond publicly was Diosdado Cabello, deputy and vice president of the PSUV.

“Whoever messes with a child with an autistic disorder, a special child, is miserable, whatever his name is, whatever his position,” said the considered number 2 of Chavism in that country.

The Asperger Foundation of Venezuela (Fundasperven) issued a statement rejecting Paraqueima’s “comments,” which “disrespectfully refers to children on the autism spectrum,” EFE reported.

The audio was adopted over the networks and the rejection exploded. In an initial message, the mayor said the controversial audio had been “edited in some way for political purposes” and “manipulated”.

As the criticism and complaints increased, he posted a video on his Instagram account.

“An appeal to the AN and to the entire population in general, I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to the entire community for my words, it was never my intention to offend children with special conditions (…) To err is human and I Today I withdraw it,” he wrote online.

However, by the time the case made it to Caracas, the case was being analyzed on two fronts. In the National Assembly (AN) and in the Public Prosecution Service.

The head of the AN, Jorge Rodríguez, even went so far as to summarize everything with the phrase, “You’ve come this far, Paraqueima” and announced that they would open an investigation.

Allegations against the mayor Paraqueima

Ernesto Paraqueima served his second term in the municipality of Simón Rodríguez. He moderated a network interview room called Paraqueima de Noche.

He had won the 2021 elections “with the support of Alianza Democrática. Before that, from 2004 to 2008, he ruled as a representative of the Movement of the Fifth Republic, founded by Hugo Chávez,” recalls El Pitazo.

Both Rodríguez and the district attorney Saab began to refer to the person designated as a future ex-mayor and ex-mayor. And indeed, on Thursday evening, Lilys Osuna was sworn in as the new mayor of “Simón Rodríguez” in El Tigre.

Saab, meanwhile, disclosed other complaints received today about the detainees in the MP.

There is not a single vulnerable sector in El Tigre that has not been harassed and outraged. The straw that broke the camel’s back was the lashing out at children with Asperger’s.

Tarek W. Saab, Attorney General of Venezuela

He reported that Paraqueima had been charged with allegedly cornering merchants and sending a message containing obscenities to a woman.

“I want you to listen to a second audio right now, where this mayor is inciting homeless people to commit suicide,” Saab charged.

This man’s controversies include a nightclub opening, which drew strong criticism on social networks; promoting sex toys from a local sex shop and giving one to a woman; and rule on marriage equality.

“While promoting the 2023 Black Gold Carnivals,” reported El Pitazo, “surrounded by women between the ages of 18 and 65, he posed a peculiar question to his critics from a nightclub: “What’s wrong with you, where are you bothered of, erection problems?

The satire, the medium reported, was aimed at those who spoke ill of the businessman who opened businesses in the city.

Considering posting videos on his networks, it was an audio that led to his arrest. The “discriminatory and insulting” language used towards children with Asperger’s was not well received.

The MP’s head denounced that Paraqueima “disgraced his inauguration”, recalling that he had previously set up a team that “applied the death penalty” against street people and ownerless animals. “His actions were terrifying,” he insisted, quoted in Últimas Noticias.