The Homeland card (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''Carnet de la patria'') is a Venezuelan identity document that includes a unique personalized

QR code A QR code (an initialism for quick response code) is a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional barcode) invented in 1994 by the Japanese company Denso Wave. A barcode is a machine-readable optical label that can contain information about th ...

. It was created in 2016 by the Venezuelan government with the objective of knowing the socioeconomic status of the population and streamlining the system of the

Bolivarian missions The Bolivarian missions are a series of over thirty social programs implemented under the administration of former Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and continued by Chávez's successor, Nicolás Maduro. The programs focus on helping the mos ...

and that of the local committees of supply and production (CLAP). The document has a digital wallet that is articulated within a state

electronic payment system An e-commerce payment system (or an electronic payment system) facilitates the acceptance of electronic payment for offline transfer, also known as a subcomponent of electronic data interchange (EDI), e-commerce payment systems have become incre ...

and in which carriers can also receive different monetary bonds from the Venezuelan State. The use of the card has been reported as a possible method of social control, a policy of

social exclusion Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...

as well as coercion and vote buying during the

2017 Venezuelan regional elections Regional elections were held in Venezuela on 15 October 2017 to elect the executive position of all 23 federal entities. This marked the first state executive election not held on the same date as elections for state legislatures, and the second ...

, the

2017 Venezuelan municipal elections The Venezuelan municipal elections of 2017 were held on 10 December 2017, to elect 335 mayors throughout Venezuela, as well as the governor of the state of Zulia. This was the first municipal election held since 2013, when elections were delayed f ...

, the

2018 Venezuelan presidential election Presidential elections were held in Venezuela on 20 May 2018, with incumbent Nicolás Maduro being declared re-elected for a second six-year term. The original electoral date was scheduled for December 2018 but was subsequently pulled ahead t ...

and the 2020 parliamentary election.

Creation

It was created on December 18, 2016, when President Nicolás Maduro announced the creation of the Homeland card system in his weekly television program ''Contacto con Maduro''. He also pointed out that the technological platform of the card has been materialized through agreements with China. Then, on January 20, 2017, the first day of registration to acquire the Homeland card began.

Processing

In principle, the acquisition of the Homeland card is free and not mandatory. To process it requires a photo, Venezuelan identity card (

: ''Cédula de identidad'') and information about the existence of health problems, participation in electoral processes and if the person enjoys any of the social missions of the national government.

Controversies

Writer Leonardo Padrón described the card as a "hunger-for-votes exchange", saying: "Give me your signature, take your CLAP ood box" On the other hand, the organization secretary of the Alianza Bravo Pueblo party, Alcides Padilla, criticized the Homeland card, saying that "through this card, the government wants to ration food for Venezuelans." Similarly, the

Communist Party of Venezuela The Communist Party of Venezuela ( es, Partido Comunista de Venezuela, PCV) is a communist party and the oldest continuously existing party in Venezuela. It was the main leftist political party in Venezuela from its foundation in 1931 until its ...

has ensured that the card is a policy of exclusion and that all the inhabitants of the country have constitutional rights that can not be dependent on said document. In August 2018, Venezuelan pensioners protested in front of the main offices of the Venezuelan Institute of Social Security (IVSS), complaining that the requirement of the Homeland Card to collect their pension limited their access. In September 2018, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro, said he had received complaints from patients who had been denied

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...

treatment for not having the Homeland card. The

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

news agency has also received complaints from state doctors denying insulin prescriptions to

diabetic Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

patients for not being enrolled in the Homeland card system. Benito Urrea, a 76-year-old diabetic, said a state physician recently denied him an insulin prescription and accused him of being a member of the "right" because he had not enrolled in the card system.

Elections

During the

, the

and the

, there were complaints of the use of the Homeland card as the coercion method of the voter. Reports of

vote buying Vote buying (also referred to as electoral clientelism and patronage politics) occurs when a political party or candidate distributes money or resources to a voter in an upcoming election with the expectation that the voter votes for the actor handi ...

were also prevalent during the presidential campaigning. Venezuelans suffering from hunger were pressured to vote for Maduro, with the government bribing potential supporters with food. Maduro promised rewards for citizens who scanned their '' Carnet de la Patria'' at the voting booth, which would allow the government to monitor the political party of their citizens and whether or not they had voted. These prizes were reportedly never delivered.

References

External links

* * {{Bolivarian Venezuela Crisis, state=autocollapse Bolivarian Revolution Identity documents Discrimination in Venezuela 2016 in Venezuela Crisis in Venezuela Social programs 2016 establishments in Venezuela