Open Letter from the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the U.S
October 24, 2011
Dear friends,
We are excited to note that presidential elections in Venezuela are now less than a year away, and that we recently enjoyed a visit to the U.S. by the National Electoral Council President, Tibisay Lucena. She informed audiences in Washington and Philadelphia about the many advances in Venezuela’s electoral system such as the increase in polling stations, new technologies for voting and vote auditing, and record rates of voter participation. In this context, though, we have noticed the overwhelming amount of media attention given to the case of the former mayor Leopoldo López, who was sanctioned for corruption years ago and recently appealed to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. As you follow the news on Venezuela’s elections, we wish to provide you with clarifying information about this issue, which has been sadly distorted in the recent coverage.
Leopoldo López was issued administrative sanctions by Venezuela’s General Accountability Office (GAO) in 2004 which barred him from managing public funds until 2014. The sanctions were based on instances of influence peddling and embezzlement carried out by López in 1998 and 2002. When the proceedings began, López was acting mayor of the Chacao district of Caracas, and the Supreme Court set a precedent by ruling that he should be allowed to finish his term in elected office.
The most important fact often overlooked by the press is that despite the sanctions Mr. López continues to enjoy full political rights, the same ones held by any Venezuelan citizen, including the freedom to form and join political movements, to publicly state political positions, to run for office and to vote. The sanctions do not prevent him from competing in the 2012 presidential race, nor do they prevent him from being elected. This was affirmed by the president of the Supreme Court, Luisa Morales, who was quoted by El Universal as saying: “Leopoldo López is not impeded from registering as a candidate with the CNE [National Electoral Council] … He can vote and be elected. He can exercise all his political rights.”
It is also important to remember that Mr. López is not the only Venezuelan official to have been punished for corruption in Venezuela. According to the website of the GAO, he is one of 1,087 people from across the political spectrum to have faced these sanctions since 2000, and while they were not always enforced in the past, these sanctions existed long before the government of President Hugo Chávez.
Media speculation has led to some confusion about the case of Mr. López in recent weeks, particularly after he brought his case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR). On October 17, the IACHR recommended lifting the sanctions against Mr. López, but Venezuela’s Supreme Court ruled on October 18 that the IACHR decision is “unenforceable” because it contradicts national law. In its ruling, the Supreme Court pointed out that the IACHR does not have international jurisdiction and cannot enforce decisions that are not in accordance with the national constitutions of States. In this instance, the Supreme Court concluded, the IACHR decision would have contradicted not only the Venezuelan constitution, but also anti-corruption treaties signed by Venezuela such as the 1996 Inter-American Convention Against Corruption and the 2003 UN Convention Against Corruption.
Just one day after Venezuela’s Supreme Court ruled that it could not uphold the IACHR decision, the U.S. weighed in, publicly backing the IACHR decision. A U.S. government spokesperson said Venezuela should accept the decision in order to honor its international commitments, but as Caracas had pointed out, doing so would in fact have been a violation of the multilateral conventions to which Venezuela belongs. In a response to the U.S. statements, Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry rejected Washington’s “unacceptable disregard for the constitutional order of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.”
As you can see, much ink has been spilled over the López case. At least in part, the reason the case has garnered so much undue attention is that Mr. López has unimpeded access to the media and to the institutions that allow him to assert his human rights. This has allowed him – and his political campaign – to generate some interest at the international stage. But the distortions and inaccuracies are at the same time evidence of an ever increasing push to demonize Venezuela’s democracy in the U.S. media.
In conclusion, the facts about the case demonstrate once again that the Bolivarian government of Venezuela holds sacred the political rights of all citizens. It is because of the great pride that we take in the transparency and efficiency of our electoral system – which is among the best anywhere in the world – that we lament the campaigns of misinformation that would trivialize our laws and institutions. We appreciate the opportunity to share this information with you and welcome opportunities for further exchange in the future.
Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the U.S.
