Tag Archives: OAS

Sep
14
2012
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In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 9/14/12

event In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 9/14/12

Courtesy of: Associated Press

The Venezuelan elections are approaching rapidly, and a series of recent events has many worried about the possibility of unrest or even violence should opposition candidate Henrique Capriles defeat Hugo Chávez. Chávez has helped to create these fears, warning Venezuelans of a “civil war” should he lose. Meanwhile, a recent opposition campaign event erupted in violence when Chávez supporters blocked a Capriles march and started throwing rocks and bottles, injuring 14. Chávez’s government has also taken formal steps to officially remove itself from the OAS human rights body, creating more concerns about the respect of human rights in the country. The economy is an important topic in the election campaign; as the candidates debate how to best use the country’s oil wealth, analysts say that Chávez has put the national oil industry in jeopardy by using its revenue to fund his revolution. The government’s rampant spending ahead of the election will likely require a currency devaluation in 2013, regardless of which candidate wins. Finally, a recent spat with coffee growers shows how Chávez’s price controls and management of the economy have damaged industry.

Preventing Political Unrest in Venezuela, Council on Foreign Relations

American policy toward Venezuela and its tendentious president, Hugo Chavez, rarely captures headlines. But when it does, the results aren’t pretty.

Venezuela’s Chávez stokes civil-war fears, The Miami Herald

As the Venezuelan presidential election on Oct. 7 draws closer, the anti-opposition rhetoric of Hugo Chávez is becoming more hysterical by the day. Indeed, to listen to Chávez, you would never know that the man is suffering from cancer at an advanced stage.

Rock throwing, arson as Chavez, Capriles supporters clash at campaign event in Venezuela, The Washington Post

Violence erupted at an opposition campaign event Wednesday as supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez blocked a road and a campaign truck was torched.

Venezuela’s government begins process of withdrawing from OAS human rights bodies, The Washington Post

Venezuela has begun the process of pulling out of two human rights bodies by formally withdrawing from a regional human rights pact, the Organization of American States said Monday.

Chavez: economic battle lines drawn, Financial Times

Not long to go now until Venezuela’s presidential elections – just 26 days left – and campaigning is beginning to get dirty, even surreal.

Chavez 67% Spending Surge Sets Up Devaluation After Vote, Business Week

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s 67 percent increase in government spending is setting the stage for a currency devaluation after national elections next month.

Venezuela: Profligacy puts Chávez’s dream at risk, Financial Times

Whether or not President Hugo Chávez triumphs in Venezuela’s presidential elections on October 7, the country will still have the world’s largest proven oil reserves – more even than Saudi Arabia.

Chavez: wake up and smell the coffee, The Financial Times

Coffee growers in Venezuela are up in arms about the government’s decision to raise the price at which they can sell their beans by only 33 per cent.

 
Sep
11
2012
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ICYMI: Venezuela’s government begins process of withdrawing from OAS human rights bodies

The Washington Post via Associated Press
September 10, 2012

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela has begun the process of pulling out of two human rights bodies by formally withdrawing from a regional human rights pact, the Organization of American States said Monday.

Venezuela’s government notified OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza that it is renouncing the American Convention on Human Rights, the OAS said in a statement.

It said Insulza regrets that decision, calling the human rights convention “one of the pillars of the legal regulations” aimed at defending human rights in the Americas.

Venezuela’s decision means that after one year it will no longer be a party to the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights or the Washington-based Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

“The Secretary General expressed his hope that … Venezuela may reconsider its decision,” the OAS said.

The human rights convention says countries may renounce the document “by means of notice given one year in advance.” It also says that process won’t release any withdrawing party in the meantime from obligations in the convention.

The Venezuelan government didn’t immediately comment on the matter.

President Hugo Chavez announced in July that he planned to pull out of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights after it sided with a Venezuelan, Raul Diaz, who was accused of participating in 2003 bombings of the Spanish Embassy and Colombian consulate in Caracas. Four people were injured in those attacks.

Diaz was sentenced to more than nine years in prison, but in 2010 he fled the country after a court allowed him out for work during certain hours. He sought asylum in the United States. Diaz has long maintained he had no role in the attacks and has accused Venezuelan authorities of violating his rights in the case.

Chavez accused the court of “supporting terrorism” by siding with Diaz.

Venezuelan human rights groups have warned that if Chavez’s government withdraws from such bodies, victims of rights abuses would have fewer venues in which to make their cases.

Chavez said previously that he favored the idea of pulling out of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, accusing it of wrongly campaigning against his government and acting at the behest of the U.S. government.

Henrique Sanchez Falcon, a law professor at Central University of Venezuela, called the government’s decision a negative step, saying if Venezuela does withdraw from the rights bodies it would constitute a violation of the country’s own constitution and would require changes to some articles.

Human rights activist Liliana Ortega, who heads the Venezuelan rights group Cofavic, condemned the government’s action.

“We appeal for restraint and for this decision to be overturned because we also think it’s a very serious political mistake to do it at this time, and not only in the electoral context but also for the message it sends to the world,” Ortega said in a telephone interview.

Chavez is seeking another six-year term in the country’s Oct. 7 presidential election.

To read this article on The Washington Post, please click here.

 
Aug
24
2012
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In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 8/24/12

chavez doll In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 8/24/12

Courtesy of: Juan Barreto / AFP / Getty Images

With less than a month remaining before the October 7 elections, accusations of President Hugo Chávez using public money and abusing government media continue. Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles tries to overcome the incumbent’s advantage with a tireless town-by-town campaign. The government has not invited any full international observer missions to monitor the elections this year, raising questions about what might happen if the results are disputed. A defeat for Chávez could have serious consequences for other countries in the region that depend on his government for assistance. Meanwhile, Chávez suffered an embarrassing moment when protesting government workers interrupted one of his nationally televised events and the broadcast cut out without explanation. The country also continues to suffer from power failures, gasoline scarcity, and rampant violence in its prison system.

In Venezuela presidential race, Chavez enjoys advantages in campaign funding, airtime, AP

Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles typically runs his presidential campaign by jogging through Venezuela’s small towns, reaching out to supporters with both hands and climbing aboard the back of a flatbed truck to speak to hundreds of people.

Capriles tries to outdo Chavez in display of dynamism, Reuters

Anyone doubting Henrique Capriles’ commitment to a daunting election battle with Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez should take a look at his neck. Or his elbows.

“Abusive” Chavez set for Venezuela vote shock: rival, Chicago Tribune

President Hugo Chavez’s abuse of state resources for his re-election campaign and lack of personal contact with Venezuelans will cost him dearly at the October 7 vote, his opposition rival says.

Carter Center Says It Won’t Witness Venezuela Vote, AP

The Carter Center said on Monday that it declined an invitation from Venezuela’s National Electoral Council to have a team at the country’s Oct. 7 presidential election. The Atlanta-based Carter Center was among the organizations that sent observer missions to monitor Venezuela’s last presidential vote in 2006, along with the European Union and the Organization of American States.

Counting on Chávez, Foreign Policy

The state of Hugo Chávez’s health has prompted plenty of speculation and debate across Washington and among the Venezuelan president’s universe of Twitter followers, but for some of his regional friends, the stakes are particularly high.

Power Failures in Venezuela, International Herald Tribune

Venezuelans are used to the routine. A computer-generated Venezuelan flag flutters on the screen, followed by a ponderous announcement: “This is a broadcast from the Ministry of People’s Power for Communication and Information of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and by the national network of radio and television.”

Venezuela has electricity supply problems, Chavez says, Fox News Latino

Venezuela continues to suffer from electricity supply problems, President Hugo Chavez said, adding that the situation would be worse if he had never been elected.

Venezuela is importing oil despite having world’s largest reserve, Miami Herald

Venezuela, a country that boasts of having the largest oil reserves in the world, is facing an acute scarcity of gasoline due to deterioration of its refinery system, and the huge volume of fuel being smuggled out of the country.

More than 20 killed in Venezuela prison riot, Miami Herald

More than 20 people were killed in a prison riot as two groups of inmates battled for control of the penitentiary, Venezuelan officials said Monday.