MVR deputy rejects any amendment to the 1999 constitution

www.vheadline.com Posted: Friday, January 31, 2003 - 3:03:49 AM By: Robert Rudnicki

Movimiento Quinta Republica (MVR) deputy Nicolas Maduro, one of the government's negotiators in the Organization of American States (OAS) led peace talks, has rejected Coordinadora Democratica's call for a constitutional amendment that would see President Hugo Chavez Frias' term in office cut to four years from six years and permit a revocatory referendum before the current earliest possible date of August this year. 

"We will not accept any change to the Constitution ... at no point have we accepted to have this topic discussed in the negotiations."

However, the deputy said the negotiators will sit down and analyze the Coordinadora Democratica proposal to see if it is constitutional, warning that it could be thrown out for what it is trying to achieve, revoking the President's and the National Assembly's mandates. 

As for the amnesty that some of Petroleos de Venezuela's (PDVSA) workers have been calling for so they can give up support for the opposition's work stoppage and return to work, Maduro ruled out any such move, insisting that those involved should remain outside of PDVSA and face punishment for their actions.