Fabiana Rosales | |
---|---|
Born | Fabiana Andreina Rosales Guerrero 22 April 1992
Tovar, Mérida, Venezuela |
Nationality | Venezuelan |
Education | Rafael Belloso Chacín University |
Occupation | Journalist |
Political party | Popular Will |
Spouse | Juan Guaidó (m. 2013) |
Children | 2 |
Fabiana Andreina Rosales Guerrero [1] (born 22 April 1992), also known as Fabiana Rosales de Guaidó, [2] is a Venezuelan journalist and social media human rights activist. [3] She is married to Juan Guaidó, [4] former disputed president of the National Assembly and claimant to the country's acting presidency in the Venezuelan presidential crisis. [5] She was considered by the White House to be the first lady of Venezuela, [6] [7] but, following the dissolution of the interim government, is no longer. [8]
Fabiana Andreína Rosales Guerrero was born on 22 April 1992 in the town of Tovar, Mérida State. [9] Her father, Carlos Rosales Belandria [5] was a farmer and her mother, Elsy Guerrero a journalist. As a child, she observed her mother's interviews and became interested in social issues. She assisted in running the family farm and decided to study journalism. [6] Her father died after having a heart attack in 2013, for which she blames the shortages in Venezuela. [6] Her cousin died similarly, because products for a blood transfusion could not be found. [5] In 2013, she graduated from Universidad Rafael Belloso Chacín with a degree in journalism and social communications. [10] She worked in Mérida state for a city council as a press officer, and later held a similar position after moving to Caracas. [11]
Rosales met Juan Guaidó at a youth rally, [6] and they married in 2013. [11] They have a daughter who was born in 2017. [9]
During her university studies, Rosales began working for the opposition party Popular Will ( Spanish: Voluntad Popular). [6] As a human rights activist, she had close to 150,000 followers on Instagram as of 26 January 2019. [3] She has stated that a motivating factor for her is that she does not "want [her] daughter to grow up wanting to leave Venezuela", [12] and that she is "working for [her] daughter to inherit a better country". [6]
During the Venezuelan presidential crisis, Guaidó was designated acting president by the Venezuelan National Assembly, contesting the legitimacy of Nicolás Maduro. [6] More than 50 governments have recognized Guaidó as the acting president of Venezuela, [13] [14] which implicitly gives Rosales a claim to being the First Lady of Venezuela. [2] [6] [15] She told Reuters that spies and "pro-government armed groups" follow her and Guaidó. [11]
The New York Times says Rosales is "emerging as a prominent figure in [Guaidó's] campaign to bring change to the crisis-wracked country". [6] She has assumed the role of international ambassador for the opposition, meeting with Venezuelan diaspora and regional leaders to solicit support for the opposition and her country. [6] Rosales started in Latin America, meeting with Martín Vizcarra and Sebastián Piñera, presidents of Peru and Chile respectively, in March 2019. [16]
On 27 March, she visited the White House to meet with US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. [16] She said that the crisis in Venezuela is serious, describing it as "freedom or dictatorship, life or death". [12] Trump said it was a "great honor to have the first lady of Venezuela". [6] From Washington, D.C., she went next to a meeting with Miami mayor Carlos A. Giménez, where she was given the key to Miami-Dade County. [17]
The Associated Press wrote that her "opponents have cast her recent tour as a desperate attempt to keep Guaido in the international spotlight", and quoted a diplomat from the Maduro administration, who said, "She is trying to boost Guaido's image, as support for his movement in Venezuela deflates". [6]