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Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
Venezuelanalysis - Nov 23, 2007
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/2889
Venezuelas Constitutional Reform: An Article-by-Article Summary
by Gregory Wilpert
The following is an article-by-article summary of the changes being
proposed to Venezuela's 1999 constitution. The summary is in no way
official and should only be used as an aid in making sense of the
proposed constitutional reform. The official reform text is quite long
(31 pages), as it includes the full text of each to be changed article,
even if only one sentence or word was changed in the article. Making
out what, exactly, the changes are relative to the original 1999
constitution can thus be a sometimes time-consuming and difficult task.
Venezuelans will vote on the reform on December 2nd and will do so in
two blocks. Block "A" includes President Chavez's original proposal, as
amended by the National Assembly, which would change 33 articles out of
the 350 articles in the constitution. Also included in block A are
another 13 articles introduced by the National Assembly. Block "B"
includes another 26 reform articles proposed by the National Assembly.
Voters may vote "Yes" or "No" on each block.
Reform Question: "Are you in agreement with the approval of the
constitutional reform project, passed by the National Assembly, with
the participation of the people, and based in the initiative of
President Hugo Chavez, with its respective titles, chapters, and
transitional, derogative, and final dispositions, distributed in the
following blocks?"
[Articles marked with an asterisk* are those proposed by the National
Assembly, other articles were proposed by the President.]
Block A
Section II. Politico-Territorial Division of the Country: President may
declare special military and development zones, citizens have a new
"right to the city."
Art. 11 - Allows the President to decree special military regions for
the defense of the nation. Also, it would allow him to name military
authorities for these regions in a case of emergency.
Art. 16 - Allows the president to decree, with permission from the
National Assembly, communal cities, maritime regions, federal
territories, federal municipalities, island districts, federal
provinces, federal cities, and functional districts. Also the president
may name and remove national government authorities for these
territorial divisions (these do not, however, supplant the existing
elected authorities in these regions).
Art. 18 - Provides a new right, the right to the city, which says that
all citizens have the right to equal access to the city's services or
benefits. Also names Caracas, the capital as the "Cradle of Simon
Bolivar, the Liberator, and Queen of the Warairarepano" [an indigenous
name for the mountain range surrounding Caracas].
Section III. Citizen Rights and Duties: Voting age lowered to 16 years,
gender parity in candidacies, creation of councils of popular power,
social security fund for self-employed, reduction of workweek to 36
hours, recognition of Venezuelans of African descent, free university
education, introduction of communal and social property.
* Art. 64 - Lowers the minimum voting age from 18 to 16 years.
Art. 67 - Requires candidates for elected office to be set up in
accordance with gender parity, reverses the prohibition against state
financing of campaigns and parties, and prohibits foreign funding of
political activity.
Art. 70 - Establishes that councils of popular power (of communities,
workers, students, farmers, fishers, youth, women, etc.) are one of the
main means for citizen participation in the government.
Art. 87 - Creates a social security fund for the self-employed, in
order to guarantee them a pension, vacation pay, sick pay, etc.
Art. 90 - Reduction of the workweek from 44 hours to 36.
* Art. 98 - Guarantees freedom for cultural creations, but without
guaranteeing intellectual property.
Art. 100 - Recognition of Venezuelans of African descent, as part of
Venezuelan culture to protect and promote (in addition to indigenous
and European culture).
* Art. 103 - Right to a free education expanded from high school to
university.
Art. 112 - The state will promote a diversified and independent
economic model, in which the interests of the community prevail over
individual interests and that guarantee the social and material needs
of the people. The state is no longer obliged to promote private
enterprise.
Art. 113 - Monopolies are prohibited instead of merely being "not
allowed." The state has the right to "reserve" the exploitation of
natural resources or provision of services that are considered by the
constitution or by a separate law to be strategic to the nation.
Concessions granted to private parties must provide adequate benefits
to the public.
Art. 115 - Introduces new forms of property, in addition to private
property. The new forms are (1) public property, belonging to state
bodies, (2) direct and indirect social property, belonging to the
society in general, where indirect social property is administered by
the state and direct is administered by particular communities, (3)
collective property, which belongs to particular groups, (4) mixed
property, which can be a combination of owner****p of any of the
previous five forms.
Section IV. Functions of the State: Creation of popular power based in
direct democracy, recognition of missions for alleviating urgent needs,
foreign policy to pursue a pluri-polar world, devolution of central,
state, and municipal functions to the popular power, guaranteed
revenues for the popular power.
Art. 136 - Creates the popular power, in addition to the municipal,
state, and national powers. "The people are the depositories of
sovereignty and exercise it directly via the popular power. This is not
born of suffrage nor any election, but out of the condition of the
human groups that are organized as the base of the population." The
popular power is organized via communal councils, workers' councils,
student councils, farmer councils, crafts councils, fisher councils,
s****ts councils, youth councils, elderly councils, women's councils,
disables persons' councils, and others indicated by law.
Art. 141 - The public administration is organized into traditional
bureaucracies and missions, which have an ad-hoc character and are
designed to address urgent needs of the population.
* Art. 152 - Venezuela's foreign policy is directed towards creating a
pluri-polar world, free of hegemonies of any imperialist, colonial, or
neo-colonial power.
* Art. 153 - Strengthening of the mandate to unify Latin America, so as
to achieve what Simon Bolivar called, "A Nation of Republics."
Art. 156 - Specifies the powers of the national government, adding
powers that are spelled out in earlier and in later articles in greater
detail. New powers of the national government include the ordering of
the territorial regime of states and municipalities, the creation and
suspension of federal territories, the administration of branches of
the national economy and their eventual transfer to social, collective,
or mixed forms of property, and the promotion, organization, and
registering of councils of the popular power.
* Art. 157 - The national assembly may attribute to the bodies of the
popular power, in addition to those of the federal district, the
states, and the municipalities, issues that are of national government
competency, so as to promote a participatory and active democracy
(instead of promoting decentralization, as was originally stated here).
Art. 158 - The state will promote the active participation of the
people, restoring power to the population (instead of decentralizing
the state).
Art. 167 - States' incomes are increased from 20% to 25% of the
national budget, where 5% is to be dedicated to the financing of each
state's communal councils.
Art. 168 - Municipalities are obligated to include in their activities
the participation of councils of popular power.
Art. 184 - Decentralization of power, by its transfer from state and
municipal level to the communal level, will include the participation
of communities in the management of public enterprises. Also, communal
councils are defined as the executive arm of direct democratic citizen
assemblies, which elect and at any time may revoke the mandates of the
communal council members.
Art. 185 - The national government council is no longer presided over
by the Vice-President, but by the President. Its members are the
President, Vice-President(s), Ministers, and Governors. Participation
of mayors and of civil society groups is optional now. Previously the
federal governmental council (as it was called) was responsible for
coordinating policies on all governmental levels. Now it is an advisory
body for the formulation of the national development plan.
Section V. Organization of the State: President may name secondary
vice-presidents as needed, presidential term extended and limit on
reelection removed, may re-organize internal politico-territorial
boundaries, and promotes all military officers.
Art. 225 - The president may designate the number of secondary
vice-presidents he or she deems necessary. Previously there was only
one Vice-President.
Art. 230 - Presidential term is extended from six to seven years. The
two consecutive term limit on presidential reelection is removed.
Art. 236 - New presidential powers as specified in other sections of
the reform are listed here, which include the ordering and management
of the country's internal political boundaries, the creation and
suspension of federal territories, setting the number and naming of
secondary vice-presidents (in addition to the first vice-president),
promote all officers of the armed forces, and administrate
international reserves in coordination with the Central Bank.
Art. 251 - Adds detail to the functioning of the State Council, which
advises the president on all matters.
Art. 252 - Composition of the State Council changed to include the
heads of each branch of government: executive, judiciary, legislature,
citizen power, and electoral power. The president may include
representatives of the popular power and others as needed. Previously
the council included five representatives designated by the president,
one by the National Assembly, one by the judiciary, and one by the
state governors.
* Art. 272 - Removal of the requirement for the state to create an
autonomous penitentiary system and places the entire system under the
administration of a ministry instead of states and municipalities.
Also, removes the option of privatizing the country's penitentiary
system.
Section VI. Socio-Economic System: Weakening of the role of private
enterprise in the economic system, possible better treatment of
national businesses over foreign ones, no privatization any part of the
national oil industry, taxation of idle agricultural land, removal of
central bank autonomy.
* Art. 299 - The socio-economic regimen of the country is based on
socialist (among other) principles. Instead of stipulating that the
state promotes development with the help of private initiative, it is
to do so with community, social, and personal initiative.
Art. 300 - Rewording of how publicly owned enterprises should be
created, to be regionalized and in favor of a "socialist economy",
instead of "decentralized."
Art. 301 - Removal of the requirement that foreign businesses receive
the same treatment as national businesses, stating that national
businesses may receive better treatment.
Art. 302 - Strengthening of the state's right to exploit the country's
mineral resources, especially all those related to oil and gas.
* Art. 303 - Removal of the permission to privatize subsidiaries of the
country's state oil industry that operate within the country.
Art. 305 - If necessary, the state may take over agricultural
production in order to guarantee alimentary security and sovereignty.
Art. 307 - Strengthening of the prohibition against latifundios (large
and idle landed estates) and creation of a tax on productive
agricultural land that is idle. Landowners who engage in the ecological
destruction of their land may be expropriated.
Art. 318 - Removal of the Central Bank's autonomy and foreign reserves
to be administrated by the Central Bank together with the President.
Art. 320 - The state must defend the economic and monetary stability of
the country. Removal of statements on the bank's autonomy.
Art. 321 - Removal of the requirement to set up a macro-economic
stabilization fund. Instead, every year the President and the Central
Bank establish the level of reserves necessary for the national economy
and all "excess reserves" are assigned to a special development and
investment fund.
Section VII. National Security: Armed forces to be anti-imperialist,
reserves to become a militia.
Art. 328 - Armed forces of Venezuela renamed to "Bolivarian Armed
Force." Specification that the military is "patriotic, popular, and
anti-imperialist" at the service of the Venezuelan people and never at
the service of an oligarchy or of a foreign imperial power, whose
professionals are not activists in any political party (modified from
the prohibition against all political activity by members of the
military).
Art. 329 - Addition of the term "Bolivarian" to each of the branches of
the military and renaming of the reserves to "National Bolivarian
Militia."
Section VIII. Constitutional changes: Signature requirements increased
for citizen-initiated referenda to modify the constitution.
* Art. 341 - Increase in the signature requirement for citizen-initiated
constitutional amendments from 15% to 20% of registered voters.
* Art. 342 - Increase in the signature requirement for citizen-initiated
constitutional reforms from 15% to 25% of registered voters.
* Art. 348 - Increase in the signature requirement for citizen-initiated
constitutional assembly from 15% to 30% of registered voters.
Block "B"
Section III. Citizen Rights and Duties: Non-discrimination based on
***ual orientation and health, increase in signature requirements for
citizen-initiated referenda, primary home protected from expropriation.
* Art. 21 - Inclusion of prohibition against discrimination based on
***ual orientation and on health.
* Art. 71 - Increase in the signature requirement for citizen-initiated
consultative referenda from 10% to 20% of registered voters.
* Art. 72 - Increase in the signature requirement for citizen-initiated
recall referenda from 20% to 30% of registered voters. Also, voter
participation set at minimum 40% (previously no minimum was set, other
than that at least as many had to vote for the recall as originally
voted for the elected official).
* Art. 73 - Increase in the signature requirement for citizen-initiated
approbatory referenda from 15% to 30% of registered voters.
* Art. 74 - Increase in the signature requirement for citizen-initiated
rescinding referenda from 10% to 30% of registered voters. In the case
of law decrees, increased from 5% to 30% of registered voters.
* Art. 82 - Protection of primary home from confiscation due to
bankruptcy or other legal proceedings.
* Art. 109 - Equal voting rights for professors, students, and employees
in the election of university authorities.
Section IV. Functions of the State: State and local comptrollers
appointed by national Comptroller General, political divisions
determined on a national instead level.
* Art. 163 - State comptrollers are to be appointed by the national
Comptroller General, not the states, following a process in which
organizations of popular power nominate candidates.
* Art. 164 - State powers are specified in accordance with other
articles of the reform. States can no longer organize the
politico-territorial division of municipalities, but only coordinate
these.
* Art. 173 - Political divisions within municipalities are to be
determined by a national law, instead of being in the power of the
municipalities. The creation of such divisions is to attend to
community initiative, with the objective being the de-concentration of
municipal administration.
* Art. 176 - The municipal comptroller is to be appointed by the
national Comptroller General, not the municipalities, following the
nomination of candidates by the organizations of popular power.
Section V. State organization: Councils of popular power participate in
the nomination of members of the judiciary, citizen, and electoral
powers, procedures for removing members of these branches specified
more explicitly.
* Art. 191 - National Assembly deputies who the president has called to
serve in the executive may return to the National Assembly to finish
their term in office once they stop working in the executive.
Previously they lost their seat in the assembly.
* Art. 264 - Specifies that Supreme Court judges are to be named by a
majority of the National Assembly, instead of being left to a law.
Also, in addition to civil society groups related to the law
profession, representatives of the popular power are to participate in
the nomination process.
* Art. 265 - Supreme Court judges may be removed from office by a simple
majority vote of the National Assembly, instead of a two-thirds
majority and an accusation by the citizen power.
* Art. 266 - Adds the ability of the Supreme Court to rule on the merits
of court proceedings against members of the National Electoral Council,
in addition to its ability to do so in the case of all other high-level
government officials.
* Art. 279 - Includes representatives of popular power councils for the
nomination of Attorney General, Comptroller General, and Human Rights
Defender. Also, specifies that each of these may be removed by a
majority of the National Assembly, instead of leaving the issue to a
separate law and a ruling from the Supreme Court.
* Art. 289 - Adds to the Comptroller General's powers the ability to
name state and municipal comptrollers.
* Art. 293 - Removes the National Electoral Council's responsibility to
preside over union elections.
* Art. 295 - Inclusion of representatives from the Popular Power in the
nomination process of members to the National Electoral Council.
Specifies that members may be chosen by a majority of National Assembly
members, instead of a two-thirds majority. Election of electoral
council members is supposed to be staggered now, where three are
elected and then halfway through their 7-year term, the other two are
to be elected.
* Art. 296 - Members of the National Electoral Council may be removed by
a majority of National Assembly members, without the need of a prior
ruling from the Supreme Court.
Section VIII. Constitutional exceptions: Right to information no longer
guaranteed during state of emergency, emergencies to last as long as
the conditions that caused it.
* Art. 337 - Change in states of emergency, so that the right to
information is no longer protected in such instances. Also, the right
to due process is removed in favor of the right to defense, to no
forced disappearance, to personal integrity, to be judged by one's
natural judges, and not to be condemned to over 30 years imprisonment.
* Art. 338 - States of alert, emergency, and of interior or exterior
commotion are no longer limited to a maximum of 180 days, but are to
last as long as conditions persist that motivated the state of
exception.
* Art. 339 - The Supreme Court's approval for states of exception is no
longer necessary, only the approval of the National Assembly.
Full Spanish text of the constitutional reform proposal:
http://www.asambleanacional.gov.ve/uploads/biblio/Reforma-%20Constitucional-%20final.doc
English translation of Venezuela's 1999 constitution:
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/constitution
*
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