Freddy Bernal

Freddy Bernal
Mayor of Libertador Municipality
In office
30 July 2000 – 30 November 2008
Preceded by Antonio Ledezma
Succeeded by Jorge Rodríguez
Personal details
Political party PSUV
Residence Caracas

Freddy Bernal is the ex-mayor (2004–2008) of the Libertador Municipality in Caracas, Venezuela and a member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).[1]

Political career

The BBC described Bernal as President Hugo Chavez's "most trusted mayor in Caracas", adding that the "opposition regard him as ultra-revolutionary".[2]

Law enforcement

Prior to becoming a politician, the BBC says he "commanded a notorious metropolitan police elite corps known as the Z Group".[2] In October 2014, President Nicolás Maduro made Bernal head of a newly created presidential commission concentrated on police reform.[3] President Maduro stated that the goal of the commission led by Bernal was to review both CICPC and the Bolivarian National Police.[4]

Controversy

In a 18 March 2015 interview with Globovisión, Bernal was asked "Can a homosexual be a police officer?" to where he replied, "Yes ... so long as they don’t manifest their sexual preference publicly. Because imagine if a police officer that might want to wear a pink shirt, or wear lipstick. I think that that, at least in Venezuela, I don’t know in other places, doesn’t go with our culture.[3] He then attempted to clarify, stating "I have nothing against sexual diversity ... But they couldn’t manifest it publicly, because it goes against the structure of what a police officer should be."[3] Bernal's remarks raised concerns of homophobia in Venezuela among the Venezuelan and the international LGBT communities.[3][5][6]

References

  1. ↑ "Bernal: El 26 de septiembre será como un nuevo 13 de abril". El Universal (in Spanish). 13 April 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Venezuela: Chavez's key backers". BBC. 19 March 2004. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Bayetti Flores, Verónica (19 March 2015). "VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT OF POLICE REFORM COMMISSION MAKES HOMOPHOBIC REMARKS". Feministing. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  4. ↑ M. Rodríguez T., Carmen (30 October 2014). "Freddy Bernal estará al frente de la Comisión para la reforma policial". El Universal. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  5. ↑ Arenas, Vanessa (18 March 2015). "Activistas: “Para ser homosexual no hay que pintarse los labios ni vestirse de rosado”". Efecto Cocuyo. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  6. ↑ Parant, Paul (19 March 2015). "Au Venezuela, un policier peut être gay… s’il le cache". Têtu. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
Preceded by
Antonio Ledezma		 Mayor of Libertador Municipality
2000–2008 		Succeeded by
Jorge Rodríguez