Venezuela - functionally, a dictatorship
rosskolnikov
location: Far end of the Group W bench
listening to: The Tony Rice Unit
registered: 2005.05.24
posts: 1822
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Note this quote from the yahoo.com news item on the story:""We're democrats. We accept the results," said opposition leader Omar Barboza.
But they said the results were skewed by Chavez's broad use of state resources to get out the vote,
through a battery of state-run news media, pressure on 2 million public employees and frequent
presidential speeches which all television stations are required to air.
Opponents say Chavez already has far too much power, with the courts, the legislature and the
election council all under his influence. Removing the 12-year presidential term limit, they say, makes
him unstoppable.
"Effectively this will become a dictatorship," Barboza told The Associated Press. "It's control of all the
powers, lack of separation of powers, unscrupulous use of state resources, persecution of
adversaries.""---------------Slowly but surely, Chavez has left his opposition with few choices other than a coup. Maybe not now,
but it's hard for me to imagine that it won't come sometime. Chavez's win raises some interesting
questions about democracy. What happens when one side so completely dominates resources that
elections are more like a rubber stamp?Salaam.
–--
.:RS:.
.:RS:.
R
rosskolnikov
(view)
Note this quote from the yahoo.com news item on the story:""We're democrats. We accept the results," said opposition leader Omar Barboza.
But they said the results were skewed by Chavez's broad use of state resources to get out the vote,
through a battery of state-run news media, pressure on 2 million public employees and frequent
presidential speeches which all television stations are required to air.
Opponents say Chavez already has far too much power, with the courts, the legislature and the
election council all under his influence. Removing the 12-year presidential term limit, they say, makes
him unstoppable.
"Effectively this will become a dictatorship," Barboza told The Associated Press. "It's control of all the
powers, lack of separation of powers, unscrupulous use of state resources, persecution of
adversaries.""---------------Slowly but surely, Chavez has left his opposition with few choices other than a coup. Maybe not now,
but it's hard for me to imagine that it won't come sometime. Chavez's win raises some interesting
questions about democracy. What happens when one side so completely dominates resources that
elections are more like a rubber stamp?Salaam.
–--
.:RS:.
.:RS:.
