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Caribbean-Latin America | |
Chavez to Pack High Court Prior to Recall Vote | |
2004-06-18 | |
EFL - NYTimes Requires Reg... BOGOTÃ, Colombia, June 17 - The government of President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela is poised to pack the Supreme Court with allies who could decide in favor of the president if an August recall referendum on his rule is as close and contested as expected, an American-based human rights group said Thursday. Learning from AlGore and the Donks A new law signed by Mr. Chávez in May expanded the Supreme Court to 32 from 20 members. It also permits pro-government representatives in the National Assembly to use their slim majority to appoint and remove justices, instead of obtaining a two-thirds majority as was common practice before, according to a Human Rights Watch report released in Caracas on Thursday. The 12 new justices will probably be appointed in July. But the National Assembly applied the law already, on Tuesday, by annulling the tenure of the courtâs vice president, Franklin Arrieche, who had voted to acquit military officers involved in a 2002 coup against Mr. Chávez. The government and its allies, including three members of the five-member National Electoral Council, have also called for restricting or even barring the Organization of American States and the Atlanta-based Carter Center from monitoring the vote, set to take place Aug. 15. The developments come as the government, fending off the latest challenge from a determined opposition, embarks on a campaign of intense social spending fueled by rising oil revenues. But political analysts say that if Mr. Chávez cannot win the recall outright, his government could count on the Supreme Court to ensure victory if the referendum results are close or disputed. Officials in the attorney generalâs office said they could not comment on the new law, called the Organic Law of the Supreme Court, until they read Human Right Watchâs 24-page report. Representatives at Miraflores, the presidential palace, did not return calls seeking comment. But a supporter of the law in the National Assembly, Eustoquio Contreras, and the Venezuelan ambassador in Washington, Bernardo Ãlvarez, said the new law was part of the governmentâs efforts to make a system once riddled with corruption more efficient. The new measure allowing the National Assembly to make appointments by a simple majority, they said, is aimed at easing the logjam that has made appointing judges difficult. "The problem weâve had in Congress is there has been a process of jamming the game," Mr. Ãlvarez said of the countryâs tangled and politically polarized legislative process. "That is why we had to change the process in the Congress." But José Miguel Vivanco, the Americas director for Human Rights Watch, characterized the new law as a political takeover of the judiciary similar to the remaking of the legal system of Peru by Alberto K. Fujimori and the packing of the Supreme Court in Argentina by Carlos Menem when the two were in office. Both men are now in exile, avoiding corruption charges in their countries.
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Posted by:Frank G |
#3 Chavez has been wiping and will continue wiping his a*** with any international resolution. Actually, Human Rights Watch and all the others "International Commissions" are playing right into his hands. He wants a confrontation with the US (which is doing great by keeping his mouth shut) or any other International Organ to have an excuse to call an State of Emergency or at the very list, to rally the citizens around a foreing threat. Please visit the following sites: www.vcrisis.com http://caracaschronicles.blogspot.com |
Posted by: Anonymous4617 2004-06-19 12:35:36 AM |
#2 If he does get removed, his last couple of weeks will be busier than Bill Clinton's. His administration will become an Executive Ordering, Judge Appointmenting, Clemancy Granting, Constitution changing factory. |
Posted by: Super Hose 2004-06-18 5:04:51 PM |
#1 oops - hat tip to Hugh Hewitt |
Posted by: Frank G 2004-06-18 2:57:10 PM |