Interviews with Cristal Montañéz Baylor

I will tell people around the world to defend their dignity. Do not allow dictatorial regimes to govern your life. You were born in freedom. In my country, we come from one of the most stable democracies in Latin America. Was it perfect? No, but it was democracy. It was free. People had the freedom to own property, to say whatever they wanted to say. They had the freedom to participate in politics; they had the freedom to govern. I would ask people to not give up. Stay together for one objective, and the main objective is the freedom of your own country, that is the land of your children, the land of your grandchildren. So never to go bed thinking: I wonder what they will do tomorrow for me. What are you really doing to bring peace, democracy, and freedom to your country?

Get involved. I would ask people not to watch the process of destruction in your country on television. Go out and join the people who are doing something, so everybody can put a grain of sand toward the same objective, so we can overcome tyranny, so we can overcome dictatorial regimes, so we can really have human dignity and freedom in our lives and be able to live like we used to live. Be free.

Cristal Montañéz Baylor is a freedom and democracy activist. She was born in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1960. A former model and Miss Venezuela, Cristal began her work as an activist during the 1978 Venezuelan presidential election.

After Hugo Chavez came to power in Venezuela, Cristal served as the International Coordinator for the Resistencia Civil de Venezolanos en el Exterior. In collaboration with other organizations, she mobilized Venezuelan and international communities to protest the Chavez government’s crackdown on civil liberties and political rights. In 2004, Chavez’s administration responded by accusing Cristal of destabilizing the Venezuelan government and the National Electoral Council.

From 2003 to 2008, Cristal served as president of the International Venezuelan Council for Democracy (IVCD), an organization dedicated to advancing democratic values, preserving Venezuela’s tradition of free and fair elections, and promoting government accountability. Under her leadership, the IVCD worked to counter propaganda and misinformation campaigns by Chavez’s government.

Cristal now lives in Houston, Texas where she works to advance democracy, justice, and peace. In this capacity, Cristal leads efforts to educate activists on nonviolent action against oppressive regimes. Cristal also sits on the Hashoo Foundation’s U.S. Board of Directors, an organization that empowers vulnerable communities by facilitating their access to opportunity and promoting more tolerant and inclusive societies.