ISSUES....
Inside,
confidential, off the record
Chavez's Coup
A constitutional 'reform' could complete Venezuela's transformation
into a dictatorship.
TENS OF thousands of Venezuelan students marched to the Supreme
Court in Caracas last week to protest the new "socialist" constitutional
reform that President Hugo Chavez is preparing to impose on the
country. On their return, students from the Central University
of Venezuela were fired on by gunmen who roared onto the campus
on motorcycles. Nine were hurt; university officials later identified
the shooters as members of government-sponsored paramilitary
groups. That's just one example of the ugly climate of intimidation
Mr. Chavez is creating in advance of a Dec. 2 referendum that
he expects will formally confirm him as de facto president for
life and give him powers rivaling those of his mentor, Fidel
Castro.
Mr. Chavez's apologists like to dismiss the Venezuelan forces
opposing his deconstruction of democracy -- which include the
Catholic Church,
the private business community and labor unions as well as students
-- as a corrupt elite. So it's worth noting what some of Mr. Chavez's
long-standing allies are saying about his constitutional changes.
The political party Podemos, whose members ran for parliament on
a pro-Chavez platform, call it "a constitutional fraud." Mr.
Chavez's recently retired defense minister, Gen. Raul
Isaias Baduel, said it was an "undemocratic
imposition" and that its approval would amount to "a
coup."
In fact, Mr. Chavez's rewrite would complete his transformation
into an autocrat. It would lengthen his presidential term from
six to seven years and remove the current limit of two terms, allowing
him to serve indefinitely. He would have broad powers to seize
property, to dispose of Venezuela's foreign exchange reserves,
to impose central government rule on local jurisdictions and to
declare indefinite states of emergency under which due process
and freedom of information would be suspended. As a populist sop,
one provision would reduce the workday from eight to six hours;
that benefit, the state's control over national television and
the voting process, and the apparent intention of many Venezuelans
to stay away from the polls are expected to deliver the necessary
ratification.
The strength and courage of the resistance to Mr. Chavez is nevertheless
growing. Despite the attacks by government goons, students have
continued to march by the thousands. Bloggers have posted photos
and videos of the government-sponsored violence. Opposition leaders
have continued to speak out despite being labeled "traitors" by
Mr. Chavez and harassed with death threats. Venezuela is on the
verge of succumbing to a dictatorship that will isolate and retard
the country, maybe for decades. It's encouraging that so many of
its people aren't prepared to give up their freedom without a fight.
The
Washington Post / Thursday, November 15, 2007;
Petroleumworld
11 21 07
ISSUES....
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