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Really?
Then why has he been re-elected many times in fair elections?
Things are not always as balanced and fair they appear, for example, the result of the referendum to recall Chavez whose numbers some believe were skewed and a fraud* was committed. This led to an abysmal existence for those who believed Chavez and his promises.
Venezuela: With us or against us? | The EconomistThe president, an unsuccessful military-coup-monger, is always uncomfortable with democracy. The constitution devised by him in 1999 made the CNE an independent branch of government, but Mr Chávez constantly interferes in its affairs, warning it against validating “illegal” signatures and ordering it to reconfigure itself before organising any referendum.
Those who dared to support the recall are also being singled out for persecution by public-sector employers, including ministries, the armed forces and the powerful state oil corporation, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). Although the previous CNE would not publish the names of the signatories, the database containing the names and identity-card numbers of those who signed an earlier petition, delivered last November, was leaked to Luis Tascón, a legislator from Mr Chávez's Fifth Republic Movement (MVR). Mr Tascón published them on his website, and threatens to do the same with the latest batch.
The first to suffer the consequences were military officers, subjected to disciplinary hearings and even discharged for signing, though the 1999 constitution gives them almost the same political rights as civilians. Then came PDVSA. The oil corporation had already ,sacked over 18,000 workers for striking in December and January, and had forced its contractors to deny them jobs. Now PDVSA is using the referendum database to filter applicants for work. The man in charge of personnel is Asdrubal Chávez the president's second cousin; he declined to answer questions.
The 1999 constitution outlaws discrimination on the basis of political beliefs. It obliges the state to punish violations of human rights. And, to keep the authorities honest, it creates yet another branch of government, the so-called “moral power”, which includes the office of an ombudsman, or “defender of the people”. Unfortunately, Germín Mundaraín, who holds the job now, is slavishly obedient to the government. He has, he says, received no complaints about this kind of job discrimination. Meanwhile, according to several current and former members of his staff, he himself is carrying out a purge of opposition supporters in his office.
That is a wonderful report and a very positive move toward real economic power on the international stage. However it is only a snapshot of an aspect of society, albeit very important, but not the whole picture. There needed to be more information regarding personal freedoms, opportunities for the everyday person to achieve and grow.And why has his programs he implemented lead to this?
Sources on this?
See posts 49, 37.
*The Venezuelan recall referendum of 15 August 2004 was a referendum to determine whether Hugo Chávez, the current President of Venezuela, should be recalled from office. The official result of the referendum was not to recall Chávez (41% yes), but a peer-reviewed scientific study found that the yes vote in reality was 56.4%. The fraud has later been confirmed by 6 peer-reviewed papers published in special section of Statistical Science (Vol 26, Nr 4).
Venezuelan recall referendum, 2004