MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Re-election, “bad symptom” for democracy in Latinamerica

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez intention to hold on to office is a “bad symptom” which is spreading to the rest of Latinamerica claimed Cesar Perez Vivas, opposition governor from the Venezuelan state of Tachira.

In a Sunday interview with Colombia’s main daily El Tiempo, Perez Vivas said that the sensible thing is “to alternate in office which is the essence of the democratic political system”. He added this guarantees that voters “can preserve in a more stable manner democratic institutions”.

Perez Vivas warned that the virus of “repeated re-election” has spread since several Latinamerican countries “feel it’s only natural that presidents hold on to office indefinitely. This is terribly pernicious and not at all good for democracy or any country”.

The governor suggested Colombian president Alvaro Uribe, and all other Latinamerican leaders, watch carefully what is going on in Venezuela because president Chavez “is forcing, almost violating constitutional rights”.

“Chavez is cornering democracy, threatening and closing media, disavows people’s rights when he rejects elected officials from a different political party…he’s clearly heading for an autocratic regime, to absolute power”, said Perez Vivas.

He pointed out that since he belongs to the opposition his province of Tachira has been virtually isolated, both physically and financially.

“Our revenue has plummeted, we’ve lost purchasing power, communications systems have been left without upkeep, there’s no fluidity in the huge volumes of trade of almost seven billion US dollars which annually cross through Tachira to neighbouring Colombia”.

Pérez Vivas also described as “ludicrous” claims that he had contracted Colombian para-military forces for his province adding that since Chavez “is a great supporter of the Marxist oriented drugs-financed FARC guerrillas, he believes that those who don’t agree with him” favour extreme right groups.

Finally he claimed that in Tachira there are too many evidences of FARC presence in Tachira, “but there’s no political will from the government to address the issue or bring them to justice”.