How To Ensure Chavez Steps down in 2012

[egslim]

We live in a globalized world. We're all free as individuals to lobby each other. It makes sense to me for the individuals of the world to show that we expect Chavez to step down in 2012, as his constitution says he must and as would be good governance.

There's no way he can justify repealing presidential term limits as being a good thing for Venezuela or Venezuelans. In a nation of millions there will be many capable leaders for them to select from in 2012.

You give a justification to why the US has the right to lobby for Chavez to step down. But what I asked was why such lobbying would work. You didn't answer that, while I gave reasons why it wouldn't.

 

[Mashuna]

Wants to close four tv outlets critical of him. No problem, right.

He should just take the Berlusconi route, and buy up the main TV stations himself.

 

[steverino]

He should just take the Berlusconi route, and buy up the main TV stations himself.

Two wrongs don't make a right. Plus, he probably will do just that with oil money and Patrick Kennedy's blessing.

 

[Merko]

The opposition candidate acknowledges that Chavez won, but questions the margin. That seems like a reasonable position.

Even if there was not direct fraud, eg rigged voting machines, the political situation is quite polarised and certainly people can feel intimidated one way or the other.

Though it would not be anti-democratic to remove the limit of two presidential terms, I still think it would be a bad idea because the person-centered type of politics has not really been beneficial to South America so far.

 

[Dave1001]

The opposition candidate acknowledges that Chavez won, but questions the margin. That seems like a reasonable position.

Even if there was not direct fraud, eg rigged voting machines, the political situation is quite polarised and certainly people can feel intimidated one way or the other.

Though it would not be anti-democratic to remove the limit of two presidential terms, I still think it would be a bad idea because the person-centered type of politics has not really been beneficial to South America so far.

I think it would be anti-liberal to remove the limit of two presidential terms. I think if our era is teaching the world anything, it's teaching us that liberal governance is more fundamentally important than democratic governance. Both are important, but when in conflict, liberal governance should take primacy.