Venezuela court puts in doubt presidential bid

[Bacchus39]

Source: AP

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) —
---------------
The Supreme Court dismissed as "unfeasible" a decision issued last month by the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights that demanded Venezuelan electoral officials allow Leopoldo Lopez to run for office.

The former Caracas district mayor was on a list of politicians blacklisted due to corruption investigations, but he insists he is innocent and notes he was never sentenced in a court.

In upholding his disqualification from holding office, the Supreme Court appeared to deal a significant blow against a promising opponent of President Hugo Chavez. Yet in a ruling that left much uncertain, the court also said Lopez is still able to be a candidate if he chooses.

Supreme Court president Luisa Estella Morales told reporters that Lopez "can freely sign up and participate in elections," including next year's presidential vote. But Morales declined to answer whether Lopez would be allowed to hold office if he were elected president.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-court-puts-doubt-presidential-bid-211641272.html

[alp227]

1. Venezuela court bars Hugo Chávez rival from taking office

Source: AP

Venezuela's supreme court has barred a rival to President Hugo Chávez from taking office – but told him that he is still eligible to stand for election.

The decision throws into doubt the presidential campaign of Leopoldo Lopez, a prominent opposition leader.

The court dismissed as "unfeasible" a decision issued last month by the inter-American court of human rights, based in Costa Rica, that demanded Venezuelan electoral officials allow Lopez to run for office.

The former Caracas district mayor was on a list of politicians blacklisted due to corruption investigations but insists he is innocent and was never sentenced in a court.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/18/venezuela-bars-hugo-chavez-rival

[UnrepentantLiberal]

2. How dare he challange the great Chávez?

This must be another lie fabricated by Chávez haters. Yep, that's it.

[Cieran_WI]

4. You obviously did not read the article. Fail. n/t

[EFerrari]

6. It's literally that.

And people fall for it every single time.

LOL

[Bacchus39]

10. what's fabricated? the story is what it is. He can't take office but still run.

this should be interesting.

[EFerrari]

14. Lopez and his mother funneled money illegally from PDVSA

to Primero Justicia. And in addition to being a thief, this guy is a thug that promoted violent demonstrations by PJ.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x13079

But, this is what the HERITAGE FOUNDATION says about him:

Several of these new decrees bring Venezuelan military policy into closer alignment with the Chavista nationalist ideology. The national army, for example, now becomes the Bolivarian army, ideological education is made compulsory, and an extensive Bolivarian militia, answering directly to the president, will act as watchdog and protector for the Chávez revolution. The new decrees also grant the government extensive authority to control the production, processing, and distribution of foodstuffs, including criminalization and jail terms for anyone violating price controls or interfering with food production and distribution. Other decrees authorize Chávez to siphon off earnings from state enterprises to fund social programs and grant him the authority to create a new layer of appointed officials to serve as regional vice presidents and agents of the central governments operating outside of electoral control. … Chávez’s agents have blacklisted 272 mostly opposition candidates accused—without trial or conviction—of corruption. Pivotal opposition figures like Leopoldo Lopez, a popular mayor in greater Caracas, are barred from running for office.

http://blog.heritage.org/2008/08/21/civil-society-under-siege-in-the-andes/

You have their spin down pat. :)

[Bacchus39]

16. was he convicted of that? Don't think so. and he certainly didn't lead a coup

like someone we know. who is the criminal between Chavez and Lopez. Looking forward to Lopez winning the election and the Chavistas attempting to bar him from office.

[EFerrari]

17. I hope you like him. Your NED tax dollars are funding his operation.

:)



Here's your candidate in action.

[Bacchus39]

18. I like him better than the current criminal president

here is your novio in action. Chavez calls for surrender of forces after failed coup attempt.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6f/Hugo_Ch%C3%A1vez_(1992_Coup_Surrender).jpg/250px-Hugo_Ch%C3%A1vez_(1992_Coup_Surrender).jpg

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

20. If being pictured in the middle of a police action is proof of guilt

where does that leave OWS?

[hack89]

22. Looks just like a OWS protester. nt

[EFerrari]

24. LOL. Find me one image of an #OWS protester

inciting violence in the street, genius.

[hack89]

25. I see a guy surrounded by tear gas fired by the police

looks like they don't like what he has to say.

[EFerrari]

27. Leopoldo López pide a estudiantes a que apliquen violencia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVBZ0Ob9kgw

Leopoldo Lopez calls for violent protest.

[ChangoLoa]

41. Oh come on. Can't you see it's a montage? Really?

That dumb ego-tripper said non-pacific instead of non-violent... a lapsus which is obvious if you could hear the rest of the declaration. Ask yourself: why do they cut everything he said except one half-sentence? I remember very well that interview, he said protesters shouldn't follow the provocative posture of the military police and was calling for non-violent protest.

OTHERWISE, he would have ended up immediately in jail. Calling for violent action is completely forbidden and very heavily punished under Venezuelan law, ESPECIALLY after the reforms that were implemented post-april 2002.

Remember that 60 year old journalist the fiscal (DA) wanted to sentence to 30 years for libel, because he said the chavista mayor of his town was stealing public money? Then, imagine someone calling for violent action...

[Cieran_WI]

3. As usual, another completely deceptive headline against Chavez

The Venezuelan Supreme Court did not bar Chavez's opponent from taking office, he hasn't even been elected to anything! Lopez is a Blacklisted politician because of his widespread corruption (he's a 1%'er), he challenged it and the Supreme Court ruled that he *IS* allowed to run for President, but whether or not he could actually take office if elected "isn't within the judicial branch's analysis at this time".

AP at it again, trying to protect South American oligarchs with a little misleading propaganda. Amazing how the 99% in America are so easily brainwashed into thinking that a country that finally overthrew their own 1% is actually a Chavez dictatorship, when in fact he's merely the figurehead for the Venezuelan 99%.

[naaman fletcher]

13. was he convicted of anything?

How do you know that he was involved in widespread corruption?

[Justina For Justice]

32. Ve Gov Has Copy of PDVSA Check To His Political Party.

The Venezuelan Comptroller General found that Leopold Lopez and his mother both worked for the government owned oil company, PDVSA in 1998. Leopold prepared the check that his mother signed, in her official capacity for PDVSA, giving over $100,000 in government money to the political party in which Leopold was an officer. Thereafter, when Lopez was mayor of Chacao, he was also found by the Venezuelan Comptroller General, to have diverted public funds. As a result of these actions, and after administrative hearings in which he had the right to appear and defend himself, he was declared ineligible to hold another public office for 15 years because of official corruption. The comptroller general is given the authority to do this under the Venezuelan Constitution.

The decision of the Venezuelan Supreme Court in this matter followed the same procedures usually followed by the U.S. Supreme Court in that they refused to decide whether he could hold office because there is now "no case in controversy" on that issue, i.e., since the 2012 presidential election has not yet been held, the court has no jurisdiction to decide now if he could serve as president if elected. Just as the U.S. Supreme Court will not decide "speculative" issues, neither would the Venezuelan Supreme Court. The only issue to be decided now is whether he is eligible to be a candidate for the presidency, and the Supreme Court held that he is eligible to run for office.

[Bacchus39]

33. never tried, never convicted, never proven

the real issue is Lopez is a threat to Chavez' reelection

[redqueen]

19. Isn't it nice that DUers can safely advocate for the 1%ers who live in other countries?

They obviously wouldn't have it so easy shilling for our domestic 1%, so it's nice they have something to fall back on.

[bitchkitty]

40. I know - it must be a

real relief from the pressure of having to bite their tongues when their friends are getting trashed. Chavez is a much easier target, and it's safer to defend a foreign 1% than say, Bush.

[Fearless]

5. Pass the holier than thou butter.

:popcorn:

[Little Tich]

7. This case is not unique,

hundreds of opposition politicians are conveniently barred from running for public office. The supreme Tribunal of Justice is controlled by Chavez and basically does what he tells it to do. This ban also shows that Chavez fears his main opponent and that he could lose the election. For the sake of the Venezuelan people, I hope Chavez will lose.

[Bacchus39]

9. exactly. I'd like to see him maintain his candidacy, win, and see if the court allows him

to take office.

[No Elephants]

8. Thanks, Alp. Another great thread. What would LBN do without you and kpete?

[COLGATE4]

11. Marvelous cynicism. You can run for office, but you probably can't

serve if elected - we'll tell you after the election. Stunningly brilliant jurisprudence.

[Bacchus39]

12. Controler General says Lopez candidacy would constitute legal fraud

according to her, Lopez knowing that if he won the election but knew he couldn't take office would constitute legal fraud. Article is in Spanish

http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/111018/contralora-postulacion-de-lopez-seria-un-fraude-a-la-ley

[joshcryer]

39. It was predicted a mile away.

[Bacchus39]

15. self-delete

n/t

[Bacchus39]

21. Chavez opponent says he won't bow out of race

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A prominent opponent of President Hugo Chavez says he won't bow out of the presidential race despite a contradictory Supreme Court ruling that upheld a ban on him holding office yet also said he could be a candidate.

Former Caracas district Mayor Leopoldo Lopez says he will run in a February primary meant to pick a single opposition candidate to face Chavez in October 2012.

Lopez said in a televised speech Tuesday that the decision about who can run for office "corresponds only to the Venezuelan people."

The country's Supreme Court on Monday upheld a decision by the country's top anti-corruption official barring Lopez from holding office. However, the Supreme Court also said he is free to run for office if he chooses.

http://news.yahoo.com/chavez-opponent-says-wont-bow-race-190038980.html

[hack89]

23. Good - make Chavez reveal his true face. nt

[joshcryer]

38. He's vyying for Vice President.

[hughee99]

26. Not surprising, an investigation has been enough to block candidates

for years in Venezuela. Mind you, an INVESTIGATION, not indictment, not conviction. Oddly, since the government is the one who decides who to investigate, it gives them tremendous power to determine who can run and who can't. I'm sure they'd never consider initiating an investigation for political purposes, though. :eyes:

[EFerrari]

28. I suppose the Council on Hemispheric Affairs is colluding with Chavez.

Fox Source #1: Leopoldo Lopez
In short bits scarcely lasting longer than a television commercial, Harrigan, a former CNN Moscow correspondent, intones that Chávez is “moving towards totalitarian rule.” To support this view he turns to such redoubtable Venezuelan political figures as Leopoldo Lopez. “The danger we are facing as Venezuelans,” says Lopez, “is the possibility of one day waking up and all of the sudden not having any of our liberties.” What Harrigan failed to disclose however is that Lopez, as the municipal mayor of the Caracas district of Chacao, has worked closely with the Primero Justicia party. According to Venezuelan human rights lawyer Eva Golinger, Primero Justicia is the “most extreme opposition party to Chávez.” What is more, Golinger has written that after the April 2002 coup against Chávez, Lopez signed the “Carmona Decree” which dissolved all democratic institutions including the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, the Attorney General and Public Defender. Additionally, the Carmona Decree did away with “an overwhelming number of laws and constitutional rights implemented during the Chávez administration.” At the time, this action was denounced by almost all of Latin America’s leaders.

Lopez’s colleague at Primero Justicia, Leopoldo Martinez, was promoted to Minister of Finance under the Carmona coup regime. Even more revealing, Golinger reports that Primero Justicia received training and support from the International Republican Institute, a nonprofit U.S. organization which receives millions of dollars in laundered funding from the U.S. taxpayer funded National Endowment for Democracy and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). This piece further corroded Harrigan’s fast disappearing reputation as a professional by failing to disclose vital information to Fox viewers about the political biases and special interests of his sources.

Fox Fails to Disclose Lopez’ Record
What is more, Fox viewers were left woefully uninformed about Lopez’s track record during the April 2002 coup. The day after Chávez was removed from power on April 12, Lopez and Baruta Mayor Henrique Capriles Radonski (see below) placed Chávez’s Interior and Justice Minister Ramon Rodriguez Chacin under arrest. Chacin later claimed that as he was being escorted out of his residence into a police car, he was physically attacked by a mob. Lopez responded by saying that he was innocent and was ordered to carry out the order by the Public Ministry, now under the control of the leader of coup regime, Pedro Carmona. However, after Chávez was restored to power, Chacin asked the country’s attorney general to open an investigation of the incident. In late 2004 Lopez was indicted by the Caracas metropolitan attorney for his involvement in the raid on Chacin’s home and the subsequent arrest of the minister.

Fox Source #2: Capriles Radonski
Harrigan continued his assault against accuracy by once again indulging in over simplification when he interviewed the mayor of the Caracas municipality of Baruta (bordering Leopoldo Lopez’s Chacao district), Henrique Capriles Radonski. Capriles remarks, “I spent 20 days without looking at the sun, without looking at the sky, without having open air.” While it is true that Capriles was imprisoned in a highly controversial, politically-charged case, Harrigan omits important information that would help American viewers to better comprehend Venezuela’s volatile politics and give some rare perspective to the course of events there. For example, in his report, Harrigan doesn’t mention that Capriles was head of the U.S.-partly funded Primero Justicia party. This is not an insignificant point. Indeed, one can only imagine the reaction from Fox were the Democratic Party to accept money from a foreign government which was interested in getting rid of the Bush administration.

http://www.coha.org/fox-news-venezuela-coverage-%E2%80%9Cfair-and-balanced%E2%80%9D/

I don't know why I'm always so surprised that a faction of DU repeats talking points from Fox and the Heritage Foundation. I guess that's just inevitable given the general lack of proficiency on anything that Faux doesn't want us to know.

[Bacchus39]

31. Eva Golinger works for the Chavez government. La novia de venezuela

and the Faux news stuff, well, if thats what you watch. snyway, you always tout the superiority of Venezuelan elections. I assume you are in favor of candidates actually being allowed to participate in the elections.

Eva Golinger is a Venezuelan-American<1> attorney and editor of the Correo del Orinoco International, a web- and print-based newspaper which is financially backed by the Venezuelan government.<2><3> She is the author of several books on Venezuela's relationship with the United States. She is an outspoken supporter of Venezuela's socialist president Hugo Chávez;<4> As of May of 2011 she serves as a foreign policy advisor to the Venezuelan government <2> Chávez has called her La novia de Venezuela ("The Girlfriend of Venezuela").<5> Golinger is a writer at Venezuelanalysis.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva_Golinger

[hughee99]

34. You seem to be up on Fox and the Heritage source more than I am,

He was "sanctioned" (whatever that means) on charges from almost a decade ago. Did he commit a crime or has this investigation just been going on for years? It's not like Chavez doesn't have the means to tell the people why Lopez is a bad guy and campaign against him, but I guess it's just easier to bar him and hundreds of others from public office.

I've seen this "Fox news says... and the Heritage foundation says..." shit on a number of Chavez posts. Do you really believe the people you're arguing with on the DU are big followers of these organizations?

[joshcryer]

36. They tried that shit with HCR but it was going to get bloody, so they dropped the case.

The Chavista's quickly distanced themselves from the attempted lawsuit to barr HCR from running and summarily fired the guy who signed off on it. Really telling.

[Bacchus39]

30. yep, just an accusation is sufficient. n/t

s

[joshcryer]

37. It would make Catherine Harris proud, how they summarily deny people from running there.

As I repeatedly say, the corruption in Venezuela's democracy is not at the ballot box. It's administrative.

[joshcryer]

35. I'm kind of glad. HCR already is building massive support and Lopez would split it.

If Lopez runs as vice President all the better.

HCR will be the next President of Venezuela.