By Luis Manuel Aguana
The first reaction of the official opposition in the
National Assembly after Nicolás Maduro unconstitutionally convened a National
Constituent Assembly on May 1, 2017 without the approval of the Venezuelan
people was to form a "Front in Defense of the Constitution” (se in
Spanish, La AN conformó el Comité del Frente en defensa de la Constitución, en https://www.panorama.com.ve/politicayeconomia/La-AN-conformo-el-Comite-del-Frente-en-defensa-de-la-Constitucion-20170525-0085.html). That
same reaction of defending the current constitution has now had to convene
urgently to discuss a constitutional amendment proposed by the legitimate Attorney
General, Luisa Ortega Diaz, to "expressly
prevent the reform, repeal, change, or lose validity of the current
constitution for a period of 5 years ..." (see in Spanish proposal of
Luisa Ortega Díaz en https://twitter.com/lortegadiaz/status/1048609823380660224).
It is impressive to see that those who have become the
first defenders of the legacy of the Galactic Hugo Chávez, which is none other
than the 1999 Constitution, are still those who say to themselves Venezuelan
opponents. I do not want to repeat again the damage that the 1999 Constitution
has caused us and the reasons why we believe it should be changed as soon as
possible. (see in Spanish, La lucha por una Constituyente Originaria debe
continuar en http://ticsddhh.blogspot.com/2017/05/la-lucha-por-una-constituyente.html) but
this time calling on the Venezuelan people to approve such a call.
To extend for 5 years the constitutional body of 1999
is unacceptable and a deception to Venezuelans because they must also request
the approval of the people in a referendum to that amendment as established in
Article 341.3 of the Constitution: “The
Electoral Power shall submit the amendments to a referendum within thirty days
following their formal reception”. And if the amendment must be submitted
to referendum, then why not do it for an Original Constituent with a new
government that the National Assembly has the obligation to designate
immediately? Some will say that no other constitution has been the most
comprehensive and protective of Human Rights. It is true. But it is also true
that with no other constitution, paradoxically, the human rights of Venezuelans
had been violated more than with the current Constitution.
In a forum with ANCO leaders from the State of Anzoátegui in the first
days of the unconstitutional convocation of the constituent in May 2017 I
referred to it in a direct way: "...No
ruler, and especially El Libertador, in all the republican history of Venezuela
ceded control to the States, not even after the Federal War, where the
Federation triumphed, and from which, with the Constitution of 1864, we call
ourselves the United States of Venezuela. Then, with the oil wealth, even less
has political or economic power been ceded or shared with the States. The
budgets, policies, infrastructure, health, education, security, environment,
etc., everything that has to do with the quality of life of the citizen in each
municipality, in each region of Venezuela, is decided by those who come to
power in Caracas. That's why nobody wants to give that up. Whoever puts their
hands on the power decides for all of us..." (see in Spanish,
Constituyente Originaria versus fraude constitucional, en http://ticsddhh.blogspot.com/2017/05/constituyente-originaria-versus-fraude.html)
The 1999 Constitution exponentially elevated that
suffocating centralism, and it was the direct consequence of the stubbornness
of the political sectors of not wanting to change the 1961 Constitution, which
could give the regions the necessary respite to make reality the improvements
that they urgently needed -already for that epoch- to manage their own
realities. This debt is not only pending, but also carries such high interest
rates that it would be impossible to conceive of a new political situation
after the dictatorship that does not entail a constitutional change that
reflects a true decentralization of power in Venezuela. It is in our crusade in
the Alianza Nacional Constituyente-ANCO (http://ancoficial.blogspot.com/).
Hence, even though the Attorney General's proposal to
introduce an amendment so as not to change the constitution may seem
"convenient," it is definitely deceptive for Venezuelans. But the
most serious thing is that it hides a situation of negotiated continuity
between that "chavismo light" that the Attorney General represents
and the official opposition that does not want to die after the dictatorship.
They want to lengthen the situation by using any opportunity.
That's why the "new Punto Fijo pact"
proposed by journalist Júrate Rosales to María Corina Machado (see in Spanish El
Diario de Júrate, Carta Abierta a María Corina Machado, en http://revistazeta.net/2018/11/04/el-diario-de-jurate-carta-abierta-a-maria-corina/) with
Julio Borges, Ramos Allup, and Leopoldo López, in the search for "a free
Venezuela" is nothing more than a strategy to refloat sunken leaderships,
but at the expense of those who have sharply differentiated themselves from
collaborationism with the regime: María Corina Machado, Diego Arria, and
Antonio Ledezma within the platform of Soy Venezuela.
An Original Constituent with fair and broad bases for
political participation in Venezuelan society would act as a kind of cleaning
with chlorine and acid in depth of everything old to give the opportunity to
express the true regional leaderships of civil society that have had no place
in the exercise of politics, as well as give them openness to other leaderships
that even belonging to known parties, have not had the chance to appear because
they are not part of the threads that have prevented internal democracy of
political parties.
A Constituent Assembly convened under these
conditions, and directed at the very base of the Venezuelan people, would bring
together the best of the representativeness of all the states of the country,
of all tendencies and of all sectors. It would not be a re-edition of the same
thing that has brought us here. A Constituent that comes out of this call could
discuss the true reality of the States and of the country, not the one that
would be imposed from the centralized structures of the parties or their
national messianic leaderships that, no matter how much they have failed and
collaborated with the regime, still deliberately impede the free exercise of
partisan democracy.
It is not with a deceptive amendment that we will resolve
the regime to stop what they intend to call for 9 December. They will do the
same above the constitution as they have always done. What we Venezuelans must
do is reject it categorically and NOT contest a new election in Venezuela that
is not adjusted to the ruling of the legitimate Supreme Court of June 13, 2018:
"By virtue of the above reasoning,
it is declared NULL and INAPPLICABLE from the present
date the use of the AUTOMATIZED
VOTING AND ESCRUTINIO SYSTEM for the election of the positions of
popular representation of the public powers, as well as for the celebration of
the referendums, in the terms indicated in the article, in the terms indicated
in the article.5 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. And so it is decided". (see in Spanish Sentencia
de Nulidad del Sistema Electoral venezolano, in http://ticsddhh.blogspot.com/2018/06/tribunal-supremo-de-justicia-declara.html).
The only conceivable course of action for Venezuelans
is for the National Assembly to comply immediately with its constitutional
obligation to replace the government of Nicolás Maduro Moros on the occasion of
the Absolute Fault of the President of the Republic caused by his conviction
published on October 29, 2018 by the legitimate Supreme Court of Justice (see
in Spanish Sentencia en el Twitter
Oficial del TSJ legitimo en, https://twitter.com/TSJ_Legitimo/status/1056859165187076096?s=03); and
that this new government proceed to consult with Venezuelans whether or not to
convene the Original Constituent to proceed with the institutional changes
required to recover the life of the country, prior to a new election in
Venezuela. Another thing is more collaborationism and continuation of the
suffering of Venezuelans.
Caracas,
November 5, 2018
Email: luismanuel.aguana@gmail.com
Twitter:@laguana
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