A Decade Under Chávez Political Intolerance and Lost Opportunities for Advancing Human Rights in Venezuela Copyright © 2008 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-371-4 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: +1 212 290 4700, Fax: +1 212 736 1300 [email protected] Poststraße 4-5 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 2593 06-10, Fax: +49 30 2593 0629 [email protected] Avenue des Gaulois, 7 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 (2) 732 2009, Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471 [email protected] 64-66 Rue de Lausanne 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 738 0481, Fax: +41 22 738 1791 [email protected] 2-12 Pentonville Road, 2nd Floor London N1 9HF, UK Tel: +44 20 7713 1995, Fax: +44 20 7713 1800 [email protected] 27 Rue de Lisbonne 75008 Paris, France Tel: +33 (1)43 59 55 35, Fax: +33 (1) 43 59 55 22 [email protected] 1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1 202 612 4321, Fax: +1 202 612 4333 [email protected] Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org September 2008 1-56432-371-4 A Decade Under Chávez Political Intolerance and Lost Opportunities for Advancing Human Rights in Venezuela I. Executive Summary .................................................................................................... 1 Political Discrimination ............................................................................................2 The Courts ...............................................................................................................3 The Media................................................................................................................4 Organized Labor ..................................................................................................... 6 Civil Society.............................................................................................................7 The Future of Venezuelan Democracy ...................................................................... 8 II. Political Discrimination ...........................................................................................10 Political Discrimination under International Law..................................................... 12 Political Discrimination under Venezuelan Law....................................................... 14 Political Patronage and Discrimination Before Chávez ............................................ 14 Blacklisting: The “Tascón List” and “Maisanta Program” ........................................ 15 Fund for the Guarantee of Deposits and Banking Protection.............................. 21 National Council of Frontiers (CNF)....................................................................24 National Electoral Council (CNE) .......................................................................25 Single Social Fund (FUS) and Fund for Microfinanced Development...................27 Discrimination in PDVSA ....................................................................................... 28 Blacklisting Oil Strikers ....................................................................................29 A “Revolutionary” Workforce ............................................................................30 Discrimination in Other Areas.................................................................................33 The Media........................................................................................................33 Organized Labor...............................................................................................34 Civil Society .....................................................................................................34 Recommendations.................................................................................................34 III. The Courts............................................................................................................. 36 International Norms on Judicial Independence .......................................................37 The OAS and the Inter-American Democratic Charter.........................................37 International Human Rights Treaties .................................................................38 Background ...........................................................................................................40 The Pre-Chávez Judiciary...................................................................................40 Reforming the Justice System ........................................................................... 41 A Polarized Supreme Court ...............................................................................42 The 2004 Court-Packing Law ..................................................................................45 Power to Pack the Court....................................................................................45 Power to Purge the Court ..................................................................................47 Implementation of the Court-Packing Law.........................................................49 A Compliant Court..................................................................................................54 The 2004 Court-Packing Law.............................................................................55 The 2007 Constitutional Reform Process...........................................................56 Conflicts of Interest ..........................................................................................58 Failure to Uphold Fundamental Rights ..............................................................59 Recommendations.................................................................................................62 IV. The Media ..............................................................................................................64 Venezuela’s Polarized Media ................................................................................ 68 Opposition Media ........................................................................................... 68 Government Media.......................................................................................... 69 Community Media ............................................................................................70 The “Media War”.............................................................................................. 71 Toughening Speech Offenses.................................................................................75 International Norms .........................................................................................75 Insult Provisions ..............................................................................................78 Defamation Provisions .................................................................................... 80 Speech Offense Prosecutions.......................................................................... 82 Regulating Media Content......................................................................................92 International Norms .........................................................................................93 Incitement Provisions.......................................................................................94 Dangers of Broad and Imprecise Wording ........................................................ 96 Lack of an Independent Regulatory Body ..........................................................97 Government Use of Incitement Provisions........................................................ 98 Restricting Information......................................................................................... 103 International Norms ....................................................................................... 103 Access to Information under Venezuelan Law .................................................106 Failure to Respect the Right of Access to Information ...................................... 107 Controlling the Airwaves ......................................................................................108 International Norms .......................................................................................108 Political Use of Discretionary Powers .............................................................. 110 Community Radio and Television ......................................................................... 121 International Norms ....................................................................................... 121 Government Support ...................................................................................... 121 State-Sponsored Pluralism............................................................................. 123 Lack of Judicial Protection of Freedom of Expression............................................. 125 The Court’s Handling of the RCTV Case............................................................ 126 Recommendations............................................................................................... 132 V. Organized Labor.................................................................................................... 134 Freedom of Association under International Law................................................... 138 The Right to Freely Elect Representatives ........................................................ 139 The Right to Bargain Collectively....................................................................