Politics MARÍA DANIELA ESPINOZA
EL UNIVERSAL

Gustavo Briceño, a lawyer specialized in administrative law and representative of the Venezuela's Front of Professional Associations, expects that a milestone of one million signatures is enough to call the attention of the Organization of American States (OAS) about the decree-laws enacted by President Hugo Chávez.

"While this number (one million signatures) in not required under any law, we consider that it is meaningful enough to call the attention of the OAS General Secretariat, so that the body convenes the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the member countries to deal with the issue of the constitutional character of the newly enacted laws in Venezuela," Briceño said.

The front's major goal is to meet with OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza to show him the new decree-laws, so that the regional body to take the relevant steps as established within OAS legal framework.

According to Briceño, the point at issue is not the enactment of the laws itself, but the fact that such move means that the Venezuelan government has allegedly violated the democratic model. "We are facing the conspiracy of a State, that considers itself as democratic, but deep down, it hides a policy that restricts freedom and democracy," he said.

Although Briceño believes that President Chávez has violated Venezuelan people's human rights, the defense of such rights will not be the focus of the document the front is to deliver by November 23 with one million signatures attached.  

"We are not going to argue about the violation of our human rights, although the government has indeed violated such rights; the problem is that Chávez has infringed basic principles of the Inter-American Democratic Charter such as transparent, accountable public administration, the independence of powers, the rule of law, and the principle of constitutional subordination of the military to civilian authorities, rather than the contrary," the Venezuelan lawyer listed.

Should the complaint be upheld, Venezuela could be punished with the suspension of its right to participate in OAS and other international organizations. "An international sanction would represent an obstacle to enter the economic trade alliance known as the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) because  international organizations always include provisions that force the states to behave in a way consistent with the collective good," Briceño said. 

The members of the front hope that the hemispheric organization takes into account their complaint. They believe that the fact that an OAS institution such as the Inter-American Court on Human Rights has issued recently a ruling against the Venezuelan government is a good precedent.  

Translated by Gerardo Cárdenas