[NYTr] Chavez Opposition Reacts to Constitutional Reform Proposals

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

excerpted from VIO Venezuela Daily News Roundup - August 20, 2007

[Indicative of the fact that political debate is not stifled in
Venezuela, Venezuelanalysis reports that members of opposition groups
have taken issue with the reforms and their criticisms are being picked
up by the press. -VIO]

Venezuelanalysis - August 18, 2007
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=2390

Venezuela's Constitutional Reform Proposal
Provokes Strong Reaction from Opposition 

by Chris Carlson

Mérida, Venezuela -- The proposed reform to the Venezuelan constitution
presented by President Hugo Chavez this week has generated criticisms
and concerns among different sectors of the opposition. Opposition
leader Manuel Rosales immediately rejected the proposal, calling it a
"constitutional coup," and vowed to mobilize a campaign against it.
Others voiced concern about changes to labor regulations and the
inclusion of socialism in the constitution.

"The president's proposal is an attempted constitutional coup," said
Manuel Rosales, the former presidential candidate and leader of the
opposition political party Un Nuevo Tiempo (A New Era), at a press
conference yesterday. Rosales said the reform was evidence of Chavez'
"narcissism" and "authoritarian militarism."

Chavez presented his proposal for a constitutional reform to the
National Assembly on Wednesday night, explaining that the changes are
necessary to transition to "a new society" and complete the country's
transition to socialism. Chavez said the intention is to "remove the
old oligarchic exploiter hegemony" of the old society and set the
socialist revolution on its course.

Chavez's opponents, however, see the proposed reform as an attempt to
stay in power beyond 2012 when his current presidential term ends and
to centralize power in his hands. Many critics say that Chavez seeks to
turn Venezuela into a Castro-style communist dictatorship.

"We will go from town to town in order to mobilize the population and
confront this constitutional coup attempt," promised Rosales yesterday.
"A constitutional reform is not needed. What the people want is that
they obey this constitution," he said.

Rosales also criticized Chavez for what he called the "destruction" of
the national oil company PDVSA, and said that none of the reforms
proposed by the president would benefit the Venezuelan people. He
accused Chavez of lying to the people and trying to deceive them into
passing the reform by including in the proposal "populist measures that
don't require a constitutional reform."

"The people don't know that reducing the work day from 8 to 6 hours
does not require a constitutional reform," he said. "Nor is a reform
needed to give legality to the community councils, or the social
missions. One of his presidential decrees would have been enough for
that to happen. That is why I think he is tricking and deceiving the
people, because [Chavez] is a liar," insisted Rosales.

Other opposition figures also responded to the proposal yesterday after
learning the details of the reforms. Hermann Escarrá, former member of
the National Assembly and co-writer of the 1999 constitution, also
called the changes a "presidential coup d'état" and criticized the
reform for "violating constitutional principles" such as alternation of
power and term limits.

Constitutional expert Asdrubal Aguiar said the reform would change the
constitution into a "copy of the Cuban Constitution." "The question is
if through this democratic mechanism like popular vote an undemocratic
model will be legitimated," he said.

Concerns arose from the private sector as well, regarding the proposal
to change the workday from 8 to 6 hours. President of the business
group Conindustria, Ismael Perez Vigil, expressed concern that the
change in the workday could affect the nation's industries and would
need to be cleared up.

"If we paid a certain salary for eight hours, now are we saying that we
are going to pay the same salary with less work hours?" he asked. He
expressed concern that the decreased work hours would mean greater
costs for their companies.

"Will we be able to raise prices or will they stay controlled? We have
to see how they are going to compensate the businesses for that cost,"
he said. Perez Vigil also voiced concern with the proposed changes to
property.

"They talk about private property and its use, but they don't say
anything about its transfer or possession like in the current
constitution. I mean, you are free to use it, but are you free to
dispose of it?"

Other business owners and business leaders also expressed concern over
the new definition of property, but the principal business organization
Fedecamaras has not commented on the reforms yet and said they are
reviewing the proposed changes.

Vicente Diaz of the National Electoral Council (CNE) also expressed
concern that the changes proposed by President Chavez go beyond a
simple constitutional reform, and would require a constitutional
assembly. Diaz said that article 342 of the Constitution establishes
that a constitutional reform could only be used for a "partial
revision", but not affect the fundamental principles and structure of
the document.

Diaz also questioned the denomination of a "socialist state" in the
constitution. "If Venezuela is declared a socialist state what happens
then with political pluralism? Do the activities of political parties
that declare themselves liberal or communist stop being constitutional?"

Diaz suggested that the National Assembly "review very carefully the
proposals that the president made in order to guarantee all Venezuelans
that the reform does not modify the fundamental principles of the
constitution."