Venezuelan bishops, rights groups criticize Chavez reforms

Roman Catholic church leaders and rights groups in Venezuela on Friday denounced sweeping constitutional reforms pushed by President Hugo Chavez as a threat to civil liberties that hand too much power to the state.The country's bishops said the proposed changes to the constitution "limit the liberty of Venezuelans, excessively increase the power of the state, eliminate decentralization and allow the government to regulate a large degree of a citizen's life."The parliament has already approved changes to 33 articles in the 1999 constitution, and lawmakers are now considering amendments to an additional 25 articles.Monsignor Diego Padron, archbishop of Cumana, 300 kilometers (185 miles) east of Caracas, read from a statement from the Venezuelan bishops' conference that said the changes "emphasize the concentration of power in the hands of the president" and "favor authoritarianism."One pro-government party, Podemos, has broken ranks with Chavez and denounced the reforms as "unconstitutional," objecting to a provision that would suspend due process and the right to information during a state of emergency.Padron said the proposed declaration of a "socialist state" contradicted the democratic principles of the constitution.Such an amendment "implies the end of pluralism and political freedom," he said.Rights activists also criticized the reforms, particularly the proposal to suspend legal due process.That provision violates the international American Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits the suspension of such judicial guarantees, said Hector Fagundez, director of the Center for Human Rights Studies at Central University.Several other rights groups offered similar criticism and abroad, New York-based Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders in Paris also have expressed concern at the reforms.Chavez's proposed amendments include removing presidential term limits; lowering the voting age to 16; boosting the state role in the economy; and allowing private property while also defining a new concept of social property.The changes would also extend the presidential term to seven years-after it was expanded from five to six years in the 1999 constitution that Chavez pushed through during his first term.The reforms would end autonomy for the country's central bank and put its international reserves under the president's control, and tighten presidential control over regional governments.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=071019235758.krlduel7&show_article=1&catnum=0

As in the days of Noah....