The Devil's Excrement

The Vth. Republic,  that fake which claims to change things, showed three cases of how the word “justice” is abused and misused under Chavez’ regime:

-The Head of the Supreme Court said this morning in a TV interview that the Constitution did not say that Chavez could not be a candidate even if his mandate was revoked. Now, let’s look at one aspect of what the Constitution which defines “absolute absence” as death …disability or a mandate recall, as possible reasons for it. Now, according to the illustrious President of the Court, nothing stops Chavez from running, well, it seems to me that if Chavez were dead, the same interpretation would say the same. He might be dead, which is an absolute absence, but he could still run, no?? Way to go Ivan Rincon, you really know your logic or your law. Who knows, maybe we could run Romulo Betancourt or Renny Ottolina for President, they are dead, but their particular “absolute” absence should not stand in the way of the well being of the country, no?

-Yesterday, the Attorney General’s office showed up at the National Electoral Commission with cops with rifles to “check” on the signatures for the petition for the consultative referendum. Now, imagine this, the Attorney General’s office is extremely diligent about checking the signatures of a referendum that will never take place, but we have yet to find out who killed or may have killed the 19 people who died on April 10th. 2002. Weird justice isn’t it? Supposedly 120 people of the more than 2 million that signed the petition  for something that will never happen stir up the Attorney General’s office into seeking “justice”, but the 19 people who died, I guess they are dead, so they can’t file a formal complaint and thus their cases are hopeless or irrelevant in this “revolutionary” system.

-Finally, reporters asked Chavez’ candidate for  the Governorship of Anzoategui State Tarek William Saab if the six candidacies named by Chavez two weeks ago were not in violation of the Electoral code. His answer? Well, using “revolutionary” logic, he said that Chavez’ candidates were not campaigning, but pre-campaigning. Thus, while the opposition is being held to the highest standards, Chavez’ MVR can use new revolutionary concepts to skirt and cheat the law.

Such is the state of injustice in the Vth. Republic……

The Venezuelan Vice-President presented an accusation to the Attorney General’s office against Sumate, the organization that gathered and prepared the signatures for the recall referendum. A legal analysis of the accusation shows that the charges are so ridiculous as to being ludicrous. Sumate is a civil association and thus can not be considered to be a political party as the Vice-President assumes in his accusation. He says Sumate “usurped” function of the Electoral Board by revising the signatures and purging them. Well, what are the people supposed to do? Spontaneously gather the signatures and hand them in? The accusation also says that Sumate collected money for its efforts in coordinating, collecting and handing the signatures “without receiving aid from the Electoral Council”. Well, the Vice-President should know that the Electoral Law simply bans the Council from giving funds to civil associations like Sumate. Thus, the charges against Sumate are ludicrous and represent another smokescreen by the Chávez administration.

The Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel is so cynical that today he went to visit the Electoral Board and spoke about not interfering with the electoral power. His most cynical statement was: “People are saying that the Government will do anything in its power to stop the recall referendum. Nothing is furthest from the truth. We may have opinions that is all”. Yeah!Yeah!Yeah!

Rangel also complained that he did not think it was proper that the US Ambassador visited the Electoral Commission to offer technical help. Of course, this is in preparation for blocking the possibility of foreign observers being present during the recall referendum.

The Venezuelan Vice-President presented an accusation to the Attorney General’s office against Sumate, the organization that gathered and prepared the signatures for the recall referendum. A legal analysis of the accusation shows that the charges are so ridiculous as to being ludicrous. Sumate is a civil association and thus can not be considered to be a political party as the Vice-President assumes in his accusation. He says Sumate “usurped” function of the Electoral Board by revising the signatures and purging them. Well, what are the people supposed to do? Spontaneously gather the signatures and hand them in? The accusation also says that Sumate collected money for its efforts in coordinating, collecting and handing the signatures “without receiving aid from the Electoral Council”. Well, the Vice-President should know that the Electoral Law simply bans the Council from giving funds to civil associations like Sumate. Thus, the charges against Sumate are ludicrous and represent another smokescreen by the Chávez administration.

The Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel is so cynical that today he went to visit the Electoral Board and spoke about not interfering with the electoral power. His most cynical statement was: “People are saying that the Government will do anything in its power to stop the recall referendum. Nothing is furthest from the truth. We may have opinions that is all”. Yeah!Yeah!Yeah!

Rangel also complained that he did not think it was proper that the US Ambassador visited the Electoral Commission to offer technical help. Of course, this is in preparation for blocking the possibility of foreign observers being present during the recall referendum.

United Press International distributed this article on Venezuela’s links to terrorists. I don’t know what type of due diligence UPI does before putting out something like this, but the charges are certainly quite serious.

Russel also sent this article in which US policy analysts respond to Chavez’ charges at the Conference on desertification in Cuba. While I have talked about Chavez’ terrible economic policies, our President had the audacity to criticize the handling of the enviroment by industrialized nations. While I will not get into that topic, Chavez’ enviromental policies have been from negligent to non-existent. His current Minister of the Enviroment is simply ignorant and is alowing PDVSA to contaminate both air and water in the name of the glorious “revolution”.

Local newspaper El Universal did pick up the story about the new species yesterday. They actually had a very cool picture of four of the discovered species, but I can’t find it online. Good article abput Dr. Machado who is the local Professor that made the discovery jointly with some foreign colleagues.

President Hugo Chavez, the same person who a week ago was hailing the new National Electoral Council (CNE) as the referee and on Sunday called for nobody to pressure the new Electoral Body, said yesterday in Cuba that if the new CNE approves the signatures submitted by the opposition, it would be morally disqualified from organizing any election “not even in the Miss Venezuela contest”, according to the President. This happened at the same time that the Vice-President asked the Attorney General to investigate Sumate, the organization used by the opposition to coordinate the gathering of the petition. According to the Vice-President Sumate has violated the Electoral Law. This from the same man that last Saturday appeared in an illegal electoral act to back the candidacy of Minister of Infrastructure Diosdado Cabello for the Governorship of Miranda State. Venezuelan law bans someone who holds public office from running while in office or anyone to be a candidate earlier than six months before an election. There are no scheduled elections in the next six months in Venezuela for these positions.

Thus, the Government’s offensive to disqualify the referendum has begun on all fronts. Chavez even said that the recall referendum was an attempt to destabilize the country with those fake signatures. But it does not matter, even if the opposition has to go out and get the signatures again, the gathering will become an overwhelming political act in itself that will show why Chávez and his cronies are so scared of what only a year ago they were claiming was the only valid option the opposition had to get rid of Chavez.

The Venezuelan Supreme Court created total confusion today in issuing a clarification on a decision last Friday that supposedly said that Hugo Chavez could not run for President if a recall referendum against him was successful. Essentially last Friday, in denying an injunction, the Constitutional Hall of the Venezuelan Supreme Court unanimously and explicitly decided(I include both the Spanish and my translation just in case):

“habrá que proceder a la elección de un nuevo Presidente mediante un proceso comicial, en el que evidentemente no podría participar dicho funcionario, pues cualquier falta absoluta del Presidente implica la separación categórica del cargo y la consecuente sustitución del mismo, lo contrario (es decir, el lanzamiento del funcionario revocado) supondría una amenaza de fraude a la soberana voluntad popular que se habría expresado mediante el proceso comicial refrendario, cuando este se inclina por la pérdida de legitimación sobrevenida del funcionario”.

Translation: “we would have to proceed to the election of a new President through an electoral process, in which such an official would evidently not be able to participate, because the absolute absence of the President implies the categorical separation from the position and his consequent substitution, the opposite (that is the candidacy of the revoked candidate) would suppose a threat of fraud against the sovereign popular will that would have expressed via the referendum process, when it inclines itself for the loss of legitimacy over the candidate”

Now, this afternoon, without anyone requesting or asking for any explanation or interpretation the President of the Court issued a letter signed by its President that says:

“Como se observa que en el texto de dicha decisión aparecen expresiones que erróneamente pudieran entenderse como una definitiva interpretación de la norma constitucional que se mencionó…los alcances de dicho fallo nº 2404 quedan estrictamente limitados y sujetos al pronunciamiento de inadmisibilidad, sin que, en consecuencia, puedan extenderse a otros aspectos “

Translation: ” As can be observed in the text of that decision there are expressions which could be understood as a definitive interpretation of the constitutional norm mentioned…the reach of that decision #2404 are strictly limited and subject of the decision to deny the injunction, without it being extended to other aspects”

This is absolutely absurd and simply creates confusion. Supreme Court decisions and precedents extend to whatever the Court decides and says. The text is very clear they say nobody whose mandate was revoked can run again. In fact, there was a recent decision on freedom of speech that was expressed by the Court in denying an injunction, so saying now that the content is not applied to other cases simply creates confusion and takes away some of the credibility of the Court> In fact, I can’t help but wonder: Why did the Court issue the clarification? Why did the Court backtrack on a decision signed by all five Justices of the Constitutional Hall? Was the Court threatened? Was the Court pressured?

I have written about this issue before, much like the Court’s decision on Friday, an official whose mandate has been revoked can not expect to run. In the case of the President I believe this is even stronger as the Constitution talks about “absolute” absence of the President when a recall referendum against him is successful. Moreover, it says that in the case of absolute absence of the President, elections will take place within thirty days to elect a “new” President to complete the term of the President whose mandate has been revoked. This can not be interpreted in any other way and the Court’s unsolicited clarification can only make me wonder what sinister machinations are going on behind the scenes to preserve Chavez’ Presidency against the people’s and the Constitution’s will.  

Note added: The Court now has ordered an investigation because it claims the content approved does not correspond to that pun;ished by the press. Just in case, Globovision has a copy of the text itslef as issued by the Court here.

There were a number of interesting interviews in today’s papers. Two of them are with the new President of the Consejo Nacional Electoral Francisco Carrasquero in both El Universal and El Nacional (the latter by subscription only). Carrasquero says that the recall referendum is the number one priority, promising a ruling on the signatures handed in by the opposition before the end of next week. In discussing whether he is Chavista or not Carrasquero said:

“There are a variety of alternatives to bring well being to the people and not only to the poor. People tend to identify the word social with the poor. I identify it with the collective interest”. Here he is definitely distancing himself with Chavez.

On the recall referendum:

“The problem of the recall referendum is a priority because the collective, or an important part of it, is interested in having it resolved and that right has to be satisfied”. “I want to tell the country not be worried because there will be a decision next week, because we have to fulfill the legal periods”

This contrasts with Chavez’ statements today during his Sunday program in which he said: “The signatures for the recall referendum are frozen; they have no priority because first we have to restructure the Consejo Nacional Electoral. Those signatures are just part of another destabilizing plan”. Chavez even went as far as saying the restructuring would take six months, forgetting the Constitution establishes a 90 day period for the recall referendum.

The other interesting interview is in page A-6 of El Nacional with Eleazar Diaz Rangel, the Editor of local daily Ultimas Noticias. Diaz Rangel was in the running to direct the CNE. After reading the interview I am glad he was not appointed. He blames not being named on a campaign by the media, being careful to be wishy washy about what he says. First he blames the media, and then he says it was certain people within the media. He says what the media wanted was to boycott the possibility of the Supreme Court naming the CNE, which I find to temerary and exaggerated. The rest of the interview is about the many coups of the opposition and the media in Venezuela. (Of course, he says his newspaper is great). The only good thing he says is that the political parties of the country do not control the agenda of the country. After reading the interview Mr. Diaz Rangel comes across as biased against the opposition and I think he would have been a terrible choice for the position of President of the CNE.

Despite the fact that it is in violation of two different laws, Minister of Infrastructure Diosdado Cabello launched today his campaign for Governor of Miranda State. The law bars anyone holding public office from being a candidate. In fact, the law says you can not even announce you are a candidate after you have resigned from your public position for one month. Moreover, since there are no scheduled elections for the next six months, nobody can announce their candidacy to anything at this point. To make matters even worse, the Vice-President himself, Jose Vicente Rangel, showed up at the rally today to endorse Diosdado’s candidacy. Thus the outlaws are at the highest levels of power in the country, but we knew that, former military are also banned by law from using uniforms, but that did not stop Hugo Chavez from wearing one yesterday. Moreover, he made threats while doing it saying that soldiers have to decide whether they will shoot against the people or the oligarchs. No country can progress if its Government does not defend the law and the Constitution. Those in power in Venezuela today have no scruples and violate the law daily. Whether this year, next or ten years from now, they will pay for violating the laws, the rights of the people and stealing billion of dollars. They think they are beyond the law, but the world and the people of Venezuela will never forget their names and faces.