The Devil's Excrement

I am reposting this from last night to include the wonderful cartoon from the cover of today’s Tal Cual of the Inmoral Council members as well as completing the story with facts I learned today

Those three icons of immorality, corruption and inaction that conform the “Moral Council” , the Attorney General/Prosecutor Isaias Rodriguez, the People’s Ombudsman, German Mundarain and the Comptroller Clodovaldo Russian,which up to today has done absolutely nothing during its existence, decided today to open a procedure against the members of the Electoral Hall of the Supreme Court. Obviously they did not do anything against the three Justices of the Constitutional Hall who “only” faked a meeting, wrote a letter based on a non-existing sentence and decision and attempted to overstep their legal powers, violating the rule of law.

These stooges were so diligent that they are not supposed to act unless they were asked by the National Assembly, but showing a dilligence that they have failed to exhibit in the last four years they acted on the ad by the leaders of the Assembly. Amazingly, it was that ad that should be investigated, as public funds were used to pay for an ad expressing the personal opinion of the leaders of the Assembly and not the Assembly itself. In fact, the point is moot, the Moral Council will never be able to get the two thirds majority required to censor the Justices of the Electoral Hall.

Separately, one of them ordered the capture of the opposition Mayor of the Baruta municipality of Caracas. The same prosecutor who liberated the shooters of Puente El Llaguno are now jailing a Mayor for the events of April 2002. Mayor Capriles Radonsky is accused of participating in the attack of the Cuban Embassy when Chavez was briefly ousted in April 2002. Reportedly, it was the Cuban Ambassador that actually called Capriles for help. Will he be a witness for the defense? I doubt it, it will require some integrity that he does not have.

Is this a new wave of persecution against opposition leaders as announced yesterday in a local paper?

Somebody has placed about one hundred pictures from the repression of Feb. 27^th. to March 6^th. in these five ofoto albums, simply click on view photos: Album 1, Album 2, Album 3, Album 4 and Album 5. Thanks to Alfredo S. for sending it. Here is an example that “nothing” was happening in Venezuela that week and that it was just a bunch of common criminals like me. These tanks were there BEFORE the march had even begun:

Somebody has placed about one hundred pictures from the repression of Feb. 27^th. to March 6^th. in these five ofoto albums, simply click on view photos: Album 1, Album 2, Album 3, Album 4 and Album 5. Thanks to Alfredo S. for sending it. Here is an example that “nothing” was happening in Venezuela that week and that it was just a bunch of common criminals like me. These tanks were there BEFORE the march had even begun:

Last Friday I reported on the story of Juan Carlos Zambrano who was tortured and killed by the military in Zulia state. The same military had raped his wife. I also said then that his brother Michel was missing. Michel has now been released, after spending a week in detention. He is now being protected by the Venezuelan Observatory on Human Rights. In today’s El Nacional (by subscription) (A-8) Zambrano tell his side of the story.

Zambrano says that he managed to see his brother when he went to find him that week. He was also detained him and they began to torture both him and his brother. He stayed at the military camp for seven days and learned of his brother’s death from the same officers. He witnesses his sister in laws rape which was performed by soldiers wearing amsks. Through the videos of the soldiers at the camp, Michel has identified all three of the soldiers who caused his brother’s death. He also said that five people were tortured, including him.

Jorge Govea, Head of the Observatory said that for the deaths of Juan Carlos Zambrano and Eva Carrizo are responsible Generals Castor Perez Leal and Wilfred Silva who led the repressive wave that week in Zulia state, concluding:

“It is perhaps ironic that the armed forces use as propaganda that they are an army for the people that favors those that have the least. This has been exposed as being only an advertising slogan since that institution has turned its back on the people and is assuming roles that do not correspond to it. The Government is handling a doctrine of public order and citizen safety which is antiquated, antidemocratic and in the best style of the gorilla Governments of Latin America. Both Zambrano and Carrizo (killed on Zulia state with a shot on her back) were “pueblo’, from fairly low backgrounds and were assassinated without compassion.

Seven people are still missing from the wave of repression their names are: Omar Arturo Morales (28); Juan José Pérez (27); Juan Ernesto Sánchez (37); Andrés Bastidas Guedes (32) ; José Luis Rodríguez (33); Eduardo José Miranda (30) y Julio César Gómez (34)

Venezuela got closer today to a huge Constitutional crisis as most institutions aligned with the Government refused today to even consider accepting the validity of yesterday’s decision by the Electoral Hall of the Supreme Court.

The division reflected the deep polarization of Venezuelan society, except that this time, it is institutions and high ranking Government officials refusing to recognize a decision by the highest court of the land.

It all began today with the statements by CNE Director Jorge Rodriguez saying that there was a Constitutional conflict between the Constitutional Hall and the Electoral Hall and that the Electoral Board would recognize the Constitutional Hall because that was the body that had named them.

The argument was absolutely convoluted. First of all, there is no conflict……yet. While the Electoral Hall made a decision and sentenced on its case, the Constitutional Hall not only met illegally, without a quorum, but it never issued a decision, nor has a sentence been published on the case. Rodriguez, sounding more like a lawyer (like most Venezuelans these days) than a medical doctor began making legal arguments that are definitely beyond the scope of his job as CNE Director.

The National Assembly leadership published a full page ad in today’s local papers criticizing the decision by the Electoral Hall, which at the time had not been approved by the National Assembly. Some even suggested the Assembly leadership had committed an act of corruption, using Assembly funds to publish an ad that reflected their personal views rather. This afternoon, the Assembly backed the ad, with the votes of the pro-Chavez members of the Assembly.

Then there was that amoral man himself, the Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel calling the decision by the Electoral Hall “a coup, unconstitutional and subversive”. Obviously, he said nothing about the fact that the Constitutional Hall claimed to have a decision that has yet to bee seen by anyone, was reached without a quorum and in a meeting that never took place.

Meanwhile, the third Justice from the Electoral Hall who was not part of the quorum said today that the decision was illegal because he claims he was at the Supreme Court building when it was made. He did not explain why he did not protest at the time of the press conference by the head of the Electoral Hall and in any case his protest can not be taken seriously because the vote was 3-0 and even if he had been present it would still have been approved by 2-1.

Even the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington got into the game issuing a press release saying the Electoral Hall had no competence on the issue because it was a Constitutional rather than an Electoral matter. Clearly, the Embassy was attempting to mitigate the fallout from the decision by the Electoral hall that has been published by most media outlets in the US.

At the end of the day, the President of the CNE gave a confusing statement in which he said that the Electoral Board would fight for its “autonomy” (What’s the Electoral Hall for, I ask?). Initially, it appeared as if he was suggesting that the decision by the Electoral hall would not be recognized, but CNE Director Ezequiel Zamora said later that the CNE would abide by the decision but will introduce recourse in front of the Constitutional Hall.

Thus, the stage is set for a Constitutional conflict. If the Constitutional Hall were to rule or revise on the decision by the Electoral Hall, it will create a precedent never before followed in Venezuela’s legal history. If it does, the full Court will have to decide on the conflict. In either case, it does not sound like the Government is ready to accept the possibility of a recall referendum against President Chávez taking place in the near future without a fight.

As if this were not enough a lawyer introduced a request to rule on whether the three Justices of the Constitutional had or not committed fraud by simulating that a valid meeting of the Hall had taken place and a decision had been made by the three. According to the judge this is a felony and the three Justices should be tried for it.

Thus, the Chavez administration continues to pull all the possible dirty tricks to avoid the recall referendum, clearly signaling that it knows it would suffer a resounding defeat. Anybody that thinks differently has only to look at the irrationality and indefensible positions assumed today by the pro-Chavez forces.

Venezuela got closer today to a huge Constitutional crisis as most institutions aligned with the Government refused today to even consider accepting the validity of yesterday’s decision by the Electoral Hall of the Supreme Court.

The division reflected the deep polarization of Venezuelan society, except that this time, it is institutions and high ranking Government officials refusing to recognize a decision by the highest court of the land.

It all began today with the statements by CNE Director Jorge Rodriguez saying that there was a Constitutional conflict between the Constitutional Hall and the Electoral Hall and that the Electoral Board would recognize the Constitutional Hall because that was the body that had named them.

The argument was absolutely convoluted. First of all, there is no conflict……yet. While the Electoral Hall made a decision and sentenced on its case, the Constitutional Hall not only met illegally, without a quorum, but it never issued a decision, nor has a sentence been published on the case. Rodriguez, sounding more like a lawyer (like most Venezuelans these days) than a medical doctor began making legal arguments that are definitely beyond the scope of his job as CNE Director.

The National Assembly leadership published a full page ad in today’s local papers criticizing the decision by the Electoral Hall, which at the time had not been approved by the National Assembly. Some even suggested the Assembly leadership had committed an act of corruption, using Assembly funds to publish an ad that reflected their personal views rather. This afternoon, the Assembly backed the ad, with the votes of the pro-Chavez members of the Assembly.

Then there was that amoral man himself, the Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel calling the decision by the Electoral Hall “a coup, unconstitutional and subversive”. Obviously, he said nothing about the fact that the Constitutional Hall claimed to have a decision that has yet to bee seen by anyone, was reached without a quorum and in a meeting that never took place.

Meanwhile, the third Justice from the Electoral Hall who was not part of the quorum said today that the decision was illegal because he claims he was at the Supreme Court building when it was made. He did not explain why he did not protest at the time of the press conference by the head of the Electoral Hall and in any case his protest can not be taken seriously because the vote was 3-0 and even if he had been present it would still have been approved by 2-1.

Even the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington got into the game issuing a press release saying the Electoral Hall had no competence on the issue because it was a Constitutional rather than an Electoral matter. Clearly, the Embassy was attempting to mitigate the fallout from the decision by the Electoral hall that has been published by most media outlets in the US.

At the end of the day, the President of the CNE gave a confusing statement in which he said that the Electoral Board would fight for its “autonomy” (What’s the Electoral Hall for, I ask?). Initially, it appeared as if he was suggesting that the decision by the Electoral hall would not be recognized, but CNE Director Ezequiel Zamora said later that the CNE would abide by the decision but will introduce recourse in front of the Constitutional Hall.

Thus, the stage is set for a Constitutional conflict. If the Constitutional Hall were to rule or revise on the decision by the Electoral Hall, it will create a precedent never before followed in Venezuela’s legal history. If it does, the full Court will have to decide on the conflict. In either case, it does not sound like the Government is ready to accept the possibility of a recall referendum against President Chávez taking place in the near future without a fight.

As if this were not enough a lawyer introduced a request to rule on whether the three Justices of the Constitutional had or not committed fraud by simulating that a valid meeting of the Hall had taken place and a decision had been made by the three. According to the judge this is a felony and the three Justices should be tried for it.

Thus, the Chavez administration continues to pull all the possible dirty tricks to avoid the recall referendum, clearly signaling that it knows it would suffer a resounding defeat. Anybody that thinks differently has only to look at the irrationality and indefensible positions assumed today by the pro-Chavez forces.

No, these are not opposition marchers giving the finger to the members of the Constituional Hall today, the opposition’s march was cancelled to avoid violence. These are actually marchers two weeks ago saluting the DISIP’s (Political Police) helicopter that was observing the demonstration, but people were ready to do this again today.

Since I have not seen it anywhere in detail, here is what Justice Martini, the President of the Electoral hall said referring to the attempt by the Constitutional Hall to take away the case of the recall referendum petition from the Electoral hall:

“The communications prentend to conform an order dictated without the backing of any sentence, which is the raeson why the Electoral Hall has all of the necessary powers to substantaite and decide, according to article 297 of the Constitution”

He added:

“I do not understand what motivation these Justices had when they pretended to take away the cases from its natural judges” or ” to indicate that there was a session that never took place, like Justices Garcia and Rondon have certified. What are they trying to do? Violate the rule of law?” He also warned them that “the consequences of their acts will fall on their consciences”. Not mild words from Justice Martini.