Changes to Venezuelan Constitutional Reform Proposal Provoke Strong Criticism

Mérida, October 17, 2007 (venezuelanalysis.com)- As the Venezuelan constitutional reform proposal undergoes a third round of discussions in the Venezuelan National Assembly, changes in the reform proposal have provoked strong criticism. The US-based organization Human Rights Watch criticized the proposed Article 337, which would allow for a suspension of some constitutional rights in the case of a state of emergency. Also, pro-Chavez parties PODEMOS and the Venezuelan Communist Party (PCV) criticized aspects of the reform.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' original reform proposal would have modified 33 articles of the national constitution, but an additional 25 articles were added to the changes after the reform proposal was submitted to a special commission in the National Assembly.

Among the changes included by the special commission is Article 337, which would allow the federal government to suspend some constitutional rights in the case a state of emergency is declared. Human Rights Watch warned yesterday that this article could be used to abuse basic human rights.

"This reform, upon being approved, would permit President Chavez to invoke a state of emergency to justify the suspension of certain rights that are untouchable under international law," said Human Rights Watch director Jose Miguel Vivanco.

Among the basic rights that could be suspended in the case of a state emergency are the right to due process of law, the right to information, the right to an attorney, and the right to a trial, among others.

Human Rights Watch pointed out that under international law "many of these rights are considered so fundamental that nations do not have the right to revoke them, not even in case of an emergency." According to Human Rights Watch, these rights have been recognized as inalienable by the United Nations and the Inter American Court of Human Rights.

The Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) also announced its opposition to Article 337. The general secretary of the party, Oscar Figuera, made the announcement this week and pledged to oppose this article when it comes up for debate in the National Assembly.

"We are convinced that President Hugo Chavez will not take any measure to violate the human rights of the Venezuelan people, but we cannot give that discretion to any state official," said Figuera.

Figuera emphasized that in a socialist revolutionary democracy justice is an essential element and that the state should not be able to take this element away "under any circumstance." He said that this article must be worded "very carefully," and insisted that the right to information should be guaranteed regardless of the circumstances.

The leader of the social democratic party PODEMOS, Ismael Garcia, has also been a stern critic of the constitutional reform proposal. Garcia says that the reform proposal seeks to make fundamental changes to the structure of the 1999 constitution, for which he claims a constitutional assembly is necessary.

On Tuesday, Garcia criticized the process of the reform debate in the National Assembly after the 25 new articles were added to the reform proposal by the special commission. He criticized the use of the special commission, claiming that the addition of the 25 articles to the reform was unconstitutional.

"The special commission shut themselves in there, and we made a group of considerations to the commission, but they didn't pay attention to us, they ignored them," he said.

"The worst of all is that these gentlemen started to debate in the special commission and we found out that they put together a new proposal on top of the one that already exists without it going through all the steps it has to go through."

Garcia and others from PODEMOS have emphasized from the beginning of the constitutional reform process that certain parts of the reform would need to be changed since they change the fundamental structure of the constitution. They have also demanded more time to debate the proposal.

"We have said since the beginning of the project that there are aspects that violate the constitution; articles that are not viable because they violate Article 136 and Article 5 that are in the fundamental structure of the constitution and cannot be changed without a constitutional assembly. We began to debate about those topics and we demanded much more time," said Garcia.

PODEMOS opposes other parts of the reform, such as the designation of public property as belonging to the states. Garcia said that they would make all efforts to oppose the reforms by taking the case to the Supreme Court and the National Electoral Council.

The three pro-Chavez political parties that have not merged with the United Socialist Party, PCV, PODEMOS, and Patria Para Todos (PPT), said yesterday that they would continue to protest the parts of the reform that they do not agree with.

Published on Oct 17th 2007 at 11.25pm