September 5th., 2007

Fascism Or Neo-Communism

The end of Castro as leader of the only communist system currently in force in Latin America has turned everyone’s attention towards the experiment led by Lieutenant Colonel Chavez. His proposal for a Constitutional reform is daily matter for the national press and of attention to most of international press. The most important Western newspapers have considered pertinent to state their opinions, and through them, intellectuals and academics wonder whether the model which Chavez wishes to impose is Fascist or Neo-Communist. On December of 1998 he was elected President for a five year period. He immediately called together a Constitutional Assembly which dissolved the National Congress and drafted a new Constitution. The presidential period was extended to six years, authorizing a “one time only” reelection. On July of 2000 he had himself reelected for a new term of 6 years, previous decision of the Supreme Court stating that the election was for a first period. This past December he had himself elected for a second period and took possession the 10^th of January of this year.

Only 7 months into this period, the past 15^th of August he presented his project for a constitutional reform. Parliament reporters stated that in his six hour long speech, presented as an explanatory preamble, he barely gave a few minutes to the proposal of extending the period to 7 years and establishing indefinite reelection. Members of the National Assembly all rose and gave long applause to this proposal. This behavior was repeated by members of the Supreme Court, high ranking military officials, the Attorney General and other State members whom assisted as guests. Chavez stated that the 33 articles he presented constitute “the structure for another stage within the process of constructing socialism” and requested that the proposal be approved as a whole, “not sacrificing the soul of the proposal with legislative techniques”. Chavez recommended that the referendum for the approval of the proposal be conducted in December.

The National Assembly, in its first discussion, unanimously approved the project, and Cilia Flores (wife of the Minister of Foreign Affairs) who presides the National Assembly, declared that “the 33 articles are related with each other, reason for which the debate and approval within the referendum should be as a whole”. Chavez requested the National Electoral Council (CNE) to conduct this referendum on December 9. Authorities of the CNE sat down with the head members of the Assembly to inform that “the mechanisms to submit the reform to referendum 30 days after its sanction were activated”. One of the doubts generated by Chavez’s proposal was whether the current 6 year period would be extended to 7 years. Such doubt was dispelled by the President of the Supreme Court: “If the National Assembly approves the President’s proposal, those changes would become effective immediately”. Therefore our current President would be in office until 2014. She added that any annulments requested against the reform would only be considered after the referendum. The will for permanent reelection constitutes no novelty. For years now he has been announcing that he intends to preside the bicentennial of Carabobo (2021), and recently in Hello, President he confirmed it, adding: “We will see about that later, it depends on my own decision and the will of the sovereign people.”

COMMUNES AND MILITIAS WILL BE THE NEW POWER

The first objection of jurists is that the structure and fundamental principles of the current text cannot be modified by way of reform. They allege that most of the proposals are incompatible with fundamental principles, according to which the government of the Republic shall always be democratic, elective, decentralized, alternative, responsible, pluralist. Chavez adds a new power. “The people are the owners of sovereignty and they exercise it directly by way of the Popular Power. This is not born from suffrage or any kind of election, but rather from the condition of human organized groups as the basis for a population.” Said groups would be the communes and communal councils, workers, peasants and others established by law. The decisions made by the citizen’s assembly will be of binding nature.

Transparency, accountability and responsibility in the exercise of public functions are eliminated, “missions” are incorporated as categories within the administration, although they are not subject to the Constitution nor laws, instead they are subject to exceptional or experimental systems generated by the President. (Missions are destined to the public services of greater demand and believing the word of the President, only known source, they consume close to half of the State’s resources). The proposals which affect fundamental principles which compose part of the constitutional tradition, have not generated the scandal which should be expected in a democratic society, since the opinion, including from those who sympathize with Chavez, is that this regime is autocratic. His adversaries reject this characteristic; most of his followers think that the country requires such a form of government.

Following this order of ideas, sympathizers of the government maintain that indefinite reelection is valid so long as it constitutes the will of the people, and that social rights have preference over political rights. The proposals which affect concrete aspects of every day life are those which have met with greater resistance. Private property is acknowledged “with regards to use and consumable properties”, and the right to “dispose” disappears, leaving successions without legal basis. Those properties which are expropriated may be occupied, without payment, previous judicial sentence. Activities which “harm the methods and systems of social or collective production” will be prohibited. The agrarian estates where, in the government’s opinion, “crimes against the safety and defense of the nation” are being committed will be confiscated. The autonomy of the Banco Central (the nation’s bank) disappears, and with it its exclusive attribute of preserving the value of the monetary unit.

Its functions will be subject to the government’s economic policies “in order to reach the superior goals of the Socialist State.” “The international reserves will be managed under the administration and direction of the President”, who will “establish the level of necessary reserves for the national economy, as well as the amount of exceeding reserves, which will be destined to the funds determined by the President.”

The Armed Forces will be named Bolivarian; it ceases to be an essentially professional institution, without political militancy, in order to become a popular and anti-imperialist body. With this new drafting the road towards transforming the National Armed Forces into a political corporation, and thus partisan, is open. Since the military forces are subject to discipline, obedience and subordination, their Commander in Chief, the President, is enabled to order them to sign up for the united party. The President reserves all promotions for all ranks. A new component is added, the Bolivarian Popular Militia, under direct command of the President, which will be a guerrilla force.

A “DICTADORZINHO” IS BORN

Analysts affirm that Chavez’s hurry with the reform has to do with the social-economic deterioration, which has become impossible to hide, and the accelerated tendency to decompose this coming year. As indicators they point out the fall in oil production and in international reserves, strong devaluation pressures, unsustainable in the next coming months, a significant fiscal deficit, and specially the fall of economic growth in the last 4 years, to a period of slowing down which precedes a standstill, with the circumstance of high political relevance, that this change of sign of the economy is a strong blow to the popular sectors, affected by the growing cost of the basic food stamps, the shortage and their diminishing their salary. According to the experts, the economy’s deterioration is irreversible and will reach acute levels in a short term. They add that Chavez wants the reform before the governors’ and mayors’ elections foreseen for 2008, in which, the explosion of internal conflicts of the regime seem inevitable.

International isolation also explains the hurry. Evo Morales and Daniel Ortega are the exception in the marked distance which western democracies have been putting. Lula’s declarations were stunning: “I don’t believe in the word irreplaceable. When a political leader starts to think that he is indispensable, a dictadorzinho (a derogatory way of saying small dictator) is born. The relationship with Kirchner has suffered a setback with the case of the $800,000 suitcase. The already famous Antonini, found in the United States, at the disposition of the FBI and the DEA, required by extradition in Argentina, could give information harmful to Mrs. K. In his recent visit to Colombia, he proposed to Uribe an arrangement in the Gulf, reentering the AC and offered himself as an intermediary with the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and ELN (National Liberation Army).

He wishes for Tirofijo, the legendary guerrilla leader, whom he identifies as "Bolivarian", to visit him in Miraflores. According to El Tiempo in Bogota, Chavez wants to put the peace of Colombia passing through Caracas. "Behind the Venezuelan caudillo, lies an authoritarian, messianic personality, with projects of being perpetuated in power and visions of continental grandeur."

In the opinion of internationalist Elsa Cardozo, the reform imposes in an authoritarian manner, a pact of all the society for the construction of a socialist state inspired on the worst experiences of real socialisms: an omnipresent State lead by a perpetual president who holds all the powers. In the opinion of historian Carrera Damas, Chavez intends to substitute the Republic for a Caribbean imitation of a monarchy. Currently a vast citizen movement is being put together, fed by cultural values which Chavez has been unable to destroy. This movement proposes unity, conduction, strategy and joint actions which may create a climate of rejection to this reform.  It is stimulated by the renewed presence of the students, who a re organizing their own Parliament, with the leaders of the Universities from all around the country. They reject the authoritarian will of the reform and state "we will fight with all our means on the streets in order to defend democracy." Their battle cry is "Students, students, long live the university, out with the military boot."