Deputy Modesto Ruiz Espinoza

Mr. Modesto Ruiz is a Deputy of the Venezuelan National Assembly, President of the Sub-Committee for Legislation, Participation, Rights
and Duties of Afro-Venezuelans.

Mr. Ruiz holds degrees in Social Communication, Municipal Planning and Public Management. He was elected Councilman in 1993 and in 1996
became the Mayor of the Andres Bello Municipality in the Miranda State. In 2006 he was elected to the Venezuelan National Assembly for
the term 2006-2010.

As Member of the Assembly, Mr. Ruiz has participated and coordinated numerous committees. In 2006, he was member of the Committee for
Citizen Participation, and co-writer of the Communal Councils' Law. Mr. Ruiz was part of the Presidential Delegation to the II Africa-South America Summit in 2009, and a member of the Parliamentarian Friendship Committees with the countries of Gambia, Angola, Namibia and Palestine. In the present, he is coordinating the drafting of the Bill Against Racial Discrimination and other Related Forms of Intolerance.

A journalist by training, Mr. Ruiz has worked in several newspapers, radio, TV stations, and cultural institutions, focusing primarily on
topics concerning social inclusion and Afro-Venezuelan identity. He served as director of the Black Dances of Barlovento, Miranda, 1984;
director of the Workshop for Afro-Venezuelan Cultural Investigation, Caracas, 1989; host of the TV show "Afrovenezolanidad", Vive TV, 2006;
and he has also been a prominent member of the Network of Afro-Venezuelan Organizations, a civil rights entity that promotes the
cultural and political rights of Afro-Venezuelans.

Mr. Ruiz has participated in diverse international summits and conferences. Some of these conferences include:

-Colombia, (Cartagena de Indias), Inter-American Development Bank, IDB, 1997. Conference: The Municipal Government Experience.
-Mayor's Office, London, England, 2007 Conference: The Contributions of Afro-Venezuelans and the 2007 Constitutional Reform.
-Participation at the Regional Council of Tuscany, Florence, Italy, 2007, Abolition of the Death Penalty.
-University of Florence, Florence, Italy, 2007 Conference: The 2007 Constitutional Reform and Social Inclusion of Afro-Venezuelans.
-Embassy of the Bolivarian Rep. of Venezuela in Trinidad & Tobago, 2008 Conference: Social Inclusion and the Bolivarian Revolution.