The human rights branch of the Organization of American States issued a blistering 300-page report Wednesday morning against one of its members, Venezuela, saying that the oil-rich country run by President Hugo Chavez constrains free expression, the rights of Venezuelans to protest and the ability of opposition politicians to function.
The report is expected to draw a sharp response from the firebrand leader, a
former army colonel who in 2008 expelled two Human Rights Watch investigators
after they released a critical report in Caracas. Chavez has in the past railed
against the OAS as beholden to the interests of the United States, a country he
calls an empire with diabolical designs on Venezuela.
The OAS report, compiled and written by the body's Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights, reflects growing concern in the region over how Venezuela is
governed. It has added weight because the OAS, which is comprised of 34
countries and based in Washington, has at times been viewed by critics as
weak-willed when it comes to making tough pronouncements about the internal
machinations in member states.
But six members of the Commission on Human Rights -- jurists and rights
activists from Antigua, Argentina, Brazil,
Chile, El
Salvador and the United States -- put together a detailed report that
asserts that democracy is in danger in Venezuela. Point by point, the report
asserts that state has punished and silenced critics, among them
anti-government television stations, demonstrators and opposition politicians
who advocate a form of government different from Chavez's, which is allied with
Cuba
and favors state intervention in the economy.
The report outlines how, after 11 years in power, the president holds
tremendous influence over other branches of government. It delves deeply into
the executive's influence over the judiciary. Judges who issue decisions the
government does not like can be fired, the report says, while hundreds of
others are in provisional posts where they can easily be removed.
The commission said that the government has sidelined opposition candidates,
disqualifying them from running for office by leveling charges against them.
Some adversaries who have been elected to office, like Caracas Mayor Antonio
Ledezma, have seen their powers usurped by the use of a parallel government
controlled by the president.
"The threats to human rights and democracy are many and very serious,
and that's why we published the report," Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, a member
of the commission who specializes in Venezuela, said by phone from his home in
Brazil. "You have aggressions against journalists, you have judges who are
dismissed perhaps because they didn't give favorable decisions to the
government, the suspension of radio stations."
Chavez did not have an immediate response to the report. But in a phone
interview Wednesday morning, Roy Chaderton, Venezuela's ambassador to the OAS,
said that the commission had become a "confrontational political actor
instead of an advocate for defending human rights."
Chaderton said the commission had shown support for a 2002 failed coup
against Chavez -- an accusation denied by the commission -- and that its
members had dedicated themselves to weakening progressive social movements in
Latin America. "They have become a mafia of bureaucrats who want to play a
bigger role in the efforts against Venezuela's government," Chaderton
said.
Chavez has frequently characterized his adversaries, from the media to
university protesters to opposition politicians, as lackeys of the United
States who are out to topple him. He has also defended his government as the
world's most democratic.
The commission, in compiling the report, did incorporate the responses
provided by Venezuelan authorities to written questionnaires. The government
says it permits protests and opposition groups to operate, while focusing much
of its energy on improving Venezuelans' standard of living.
Pinheiro said that the commission recognized both the government's progress
in areas like poverty reduction and the sustained support Chavez still has
among the masses. But Pinheiro said that there can be "no trade off"
between political and economic progress. He said that the commission's hope is
that the Venezuelan government will take the report seriously and find ways to
make improvements.
"This is evidence-based -- it's not just rumor or gossip or the bad
humor of the commission," Pinheiro said of the report. "This report,
instead of isolating Venezuela, is a call for Venezuela to come on board."
Others who closely track Venezuela, though, said Chavez is not open to
criticism and is prone to a disproportionate response when criticized. After
releasing a highly critical report about Chavez two years ago, Jose Miguel
Vivanco, the Americas director for Human Rights Watch, and a fellow
investigator for the group were detained at their Caracas hotel and escorted by
armed agents onto a Brazil-bound flight.
"It would be nice to think the Chavez government would pay attention to
the report and try to address the very serious problems it documents,"
Vivanco said. "But until now, Chavez and his officials have responded to
all such criticism by attacking its critics, often using conspiracy theories
and far-fetched allegations to distract attention from their own human rights
practices."
The Chavez government refused to permit the commission to conduct field work
in Venezuela as it worked on the report. The commission instead relied on
information gleaned from hearings held in Washington, as well as its own investigations
into several high-profile cases involving the media and political figures.
"I think the report offers an honest, balanced photograph of the
situation today," said Pinheiro.