The role of the individual in history

My decision to go to Venezuela to meet with authorities in search of immediate solutions to the suffering afflicting the people of my state, my beloved Roraima, surprised many. Many are asking: who is this Telmário Mota? How does he have the courage to go alone to a country in conflict and leave with a starting point for a solution to the closure of the border between Venezuela and Brazil, a problem that seemed unsolvable through dialogue and diplomacy?

Only those who don't know me ask such questions. I come from afar. I receive from my ancestors the legacy of commitment to the people of Roraima and to the Brazilian people. My great-grandfather, Colonel Mota, an educator, was the first mayor and Justice of the Peace of Boa Vista. His first son, Uncle Vitor, died fighting for national territory against the English. Alongside him was my grandfather, Pedro Rodrigues, the last commander of Fort São Joaquim on the Rio Branco River. I learned from my mother, Ana, a Macuxi Indian, and from my father, the cowboy Tuxaua Pedro, to love people, to be kind, and to have courage in life. Just as Uncle Vitor did, I, if necessary, would give my life for the people of my state and my country.

Regarding Venezuela, as a native of Roraima, I have lived alongside that country and its people for years. We are neighbors and companions. The people of Roraima and the Venezuelans of Bolívar state share a common geography and destiny: to develop together. Trade with Venezuela is fundamental to the economy of Roraima, and the energy we consume is produced at the Venezuelan hydroelectric plant in Guri.

Some were surprised that I had established an intense and broad parliamentary diplomacy campaign to calm tensions in our relations with Venezuela. In fact, I am one of the members of a subcommittee of the Foreign Relations and National Defense Committee created to seek solutions to the problem, within the sphere of competence of the Federal Senate. But the subject is not new to me. Alongside the great Brazilian who is sorely missed in the Federal Senate, Roberto Requião, I was in Venezuela in July 2015 seeking reconciliation and promoting peace. Requião led a commission of senators, of which I was a part. On a FAB (Brazilian Air Force) plane, we went to Venezuela on that occasion to build bridges of dialogue between the opposition and the government. We spoke with all the opposition forces and We took your demands to the government.And we had positive results. Elections were scheduled, and some prisoners, whom the government claimed had committed common crimes, had their cases reviewed by the Venezuelan justice system and were released.

Brazil has a mission, which guides my life and my mandate: to build a territory of peace and prosperity in the southern hemisphere of America for the good of our people. I do not pretend to be more than I am. I am aware that society and history are moved by gigantic objective forces of an economic and geopolitical nature. But I also know that the changes that need to happen do not occur through inertia, but through the concrete action of concrete men. I believe in the role of the individual in history. As my ancestors did, and as I learned alongside great Brazilians, of whom my colleague Requião is an example, I do my part. That is what is my responsibility, and I am satisfied with that. Let each one do theirs.