Venezuelan lawmakers approve unlimited reelections bill (Xinhua)

[struggle4progress]

www.chinaview.cn 2009-01-15 10:23:21 Print


CARACAS, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's National Assembly Wednesday approved a constitutional amendment that could allow unlimited re-elections of President Hugo Chavez and all other elected officials, local media reported.

The amendments must still be approved by voters in a referendum within 30 days before going into effect.

The vast majority of the lawmakers voted Wednesday in favor of lifting term limits for the president and all other elected officials. Six lawmakers voted against the proposal while five abstained, according to the report.

The National Election Board is expected to announce a date Friday for the referendum. The date will likely be Feb. 15 ...

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/15/content_10661602.htm

[Judi Lynn]

1. Cool! As Peace Patriot pointed out long ago, it was the REPUBLICANS who sought to put a limit on

our own Presidential terms served, since FDR was going like blazes, getting things cleaned up beautifully after the depression and getting people back to work, and from their positions, it looked as if he would ALWAYS be there, if they didn't find a way to stick their snouts into things and bring the length of time the American people could ask their beloved Democratic President to serve to a screeching halt.

Death claimed him first, but Republicans are very similar to death, aren't they? Having a Republican President is very similar to death for a nation. They stuff their own and each others' pockets as fast as humanly possible, raid the treasury, try to make things far harder for the working class they live off before they can be voted out again, and saddle the Democrats with the task of cleaning up after them.

They can't stand the thought of Chavez being allowed all the time they need to get all the reforms underway and working. They are driven to cut it off before the country can make a successful change-over. Well, now the voters are going to get a chance to say something about that.

Since the right-wing can't get what it wants legitimately, and because its own interests are diametrically opposed to the well-being of the majority of the population who will ALWAYS vote in its own interests, their only bet is to do something violent, something dirty and underhanded, as they did before to attempt to kick up a conflict to interrupt the referendum's chance of success, or they will lose their greedy asses, just as they deserve.

[Bacchus39]

2. I seem to recall the Venezuelan people rejecting this proposal in 2007

yes, this was already decided.

[Bacchus39]

3. Ven is no Cuba it would appear

riot police officer, right, fires rubber bullets at university students during a protest in Caracas, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009. Students protested against a proposed referendum that could allow Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez run for re-election indefinitely

[Judi Lynn]

4. They rejected by a hair a large group of 69 individual issues, as you know, term limits only ONE

of the ones under consideration.

Disinformation won't work in this case.

[Bacchus39]

5. what is the appropriate margin of victory the Venzuelan people needed to express?

and yes with all those goodies attached, the proposals still lost.

[Judi Lynn]

6. Goodies? They were 69 separate issues, the term limits issue being only ONE. n/t

[Bacchus39]

7. yes and some scary stuff too

how about reducing the work day to 6 hours??? but then there's the ability to declare "unlimted state of emergency".
you don't think there were some political considerations that went into this to make it more likely to pass??? please.......

abolish presidential term limits, allowing for indefinite re-election of the president (not allowed for any other political post),
expand social security benefits to workers in the informal economy,
end the autonomy of the central bank, giving control to the president, and place the president in charge of administering the country's international reserves,
prohibit large land estates, while "allowing the state to provisionally occupy property slated for expropriation before a court has ruled",<17>
reorganize the country's administrative districts and allow the president to control elected state governors and mayors by an unelected “popular power” dependent on the presidency,<19>
reduce the maximum working week from 44 to 36 hours and reduce the workday from eight to six hours,
lower the voting age from 18 to 16,
increase the presidential term from six to seven years,
allow the president to declare an unlimited state of emergency,
prohibit foreign funding for political associations.
allow public funding for political associations.
ban discrimination based on sexual orientatio

[struggle4progress]

8. Venezuelan legislature paves way for vote on Chavez's third term (CNN)

... The referendum likely will be held February 15 ... The proposed amendment would change five constitutional articles and would allow indefinite re-election not only of the president, but also governors, mayors and national and regional legislators ... http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/01/15/chavez.venezuela/index.html?eref=rss_world