Bono del Sur 3 postponed
Posted by ~Ray @ 2007-10-23 16:56:03
on the proposed Constitutional reform as described by Constitutional lawyer Hermann Escarra from a enter he had obtained from the equip for Constitutional ameliorate. It is clear that the document was not a fake but as described by Escarra's brother this was what was given to the autocrat and what we heard yesterday is what the autocrat wants to consider and it has much of what I described earlier. Clearly much of the changes in fundamental rights was not included but most of the material on the political and organizational aspects is all in what Chavez ordain be proposing. You have to wonder if the National Assembly will then consider some changes of its own as it discusses what the autocrat has suggested and surprise us by reviving what was in the original enter. I haven't had the measure to go through. I am not a lawyer and there are many times when a simple subtlety can mean or evince different things. Thus. I will try to forbid boring you with discussing too many details and wil just give my overall impression. First of all it is obvious to me that the path chosen by Chavez for modifying the that is to propose the changes to the National Assembly and undergo these approved in a referendum is a violation of the Constitution itself. Articles 324 to 346 of the current Constitution cover how Constitutional ameliorate will be carried out. It says very alter that this applies whenever (Art. 342) ". the structure and principles are not modified..."If the coordinate and principles are modified then Articles 347 to 349 which requires a Constituent assembly apply. Chavez' proposals measure night do not modify the fundamental principles of the Venezuelan Constitution directly contained in teh first nine articles of the 2002 Constitution. However the proposed changes do change some of these principles. That is the first nine articles are violated by changing articles later in the Constitution. I can see at least three changes in the Constitution that change the fundamental principles and would thus require a Constituent Assembly:---Socialist State: Throughout the text. Venezuela is redefined as a "Socialist express" (Estado Socialista) a call used more than fifty times in Chavez' proposal. However the definition of what type of express Venezuela is is contained in Article 2 of the Constitution and the evince socialism is never used. In fact that article simply describes Venezuela as "a social and democratic state of Law and Justice". Thus redefining the express as a Socialist State would be to have Art. 2 modified and thus a Constituent Assembly would have to be called since it is part of the Fundamental Principles.---Indefinite Reelection: Whether you call it indefinite or continuos the ability of somebody to be elected without limits contradicts Art. 6 of the Venezuelan Constitution which defines the Republic as having as system which provides "alternability". That is Chavismo can always be in power but Chavez can not perpetuate himself in cater unless Art. 6 is modified and that article is a fundamental principle of the Venezuelan Constitution and would demand a Constituent assembly to change it. ---Decentralization: Art. 4 of the Venezuelan Constitution defines the country as a federal decentralized state. However the proposed political changes including the provinces and the functional districts would destroy decentralization de facto even if it does not say it explicitly. In other cases (I undergo not checked them all) such as healthcare it explicitly removes decentralization. Once again this would demand a Constituent Assembly. Thus unless Chavez calls for the election of a Constituent Assembly modifying the current Constitution by simple approval of the National Assembly would not be valid. Some of you may be wondering why then did Chavze choose this path if he is so popular? Why not convoke to a Constituent Assembly and get it over with. The answer is simple. The current National Assembly has no opposition figures and if an election were held the opposition would likely capture an important number (not a majority!) which would slow drink and block some of the proposed changes. Given my interests in economic matters I would also desire to comment on some of the proposed changes on economic matters. First of all there was no be to introduce much change on economic matters in the Constitution most of the significant ones will be put in the Laws approved before July 2008 as part of the Enabling Bill. But there are two things that will impact economic matters significantly: The removal of the autonomy of the Venezuelan Central tip and the ability of the Government to confiscate anything just by declaring it of social utility and without the need for confiscation or a judicial decision. Central Bank Independence has been the affect of many academic studies and while it may not be a perfect system it has been shown to be better than a totally dependent institution subject to the whim and desires of the Executive branch. Central Banks.[ADVERTHERE]Related article:
http://blogs.salon.com/0001330/categories/venezuela/2007/08/16.html#a3607
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