Venezuela Lawmakers Hold Session in Park

Posted on Fri, Jun. 06, 2003 ALEXANDRA OLSON Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela - Meeting in a downtown park to avoid their rivals, lawmakers loyal to President Hugo Chavez adopted parliamentary procedures that allow them to swiftly pass several new laws, including one that would tighten restrictions on the media.

The lawmakers, gathering in tents in a poor neighborhood of hard-core Chavez supporters, adopted new debate rules intended to make it more difficult to block legislation supported by the president. Opposition members of Congress said they did not recognize the legitimacy of the vote.

The president's supporters hold a slim majority in the 165-seat Congress, but they wanted to cut the opposition out of the debate by meeting in a hostile neighborhood - a sign of the political bitterness in a country that is a major oil exporter to the United States.

"They are trying to create an assembly completely subservient to the interests of the government," said opposition lawmaker Julio Borges of the Justice First party.

Opposition lawmakers boycotted the session in the park, calling it illegal and a Chavez-sponsored attempt to undercut the Congress. They tried to convene a separate session at the legislative palace, but the president's supporters ordered the doors locked.

The bickering threatened to further delay Congress' attempt to choose election officials to run an internationally backed referendum on Chavez's presidency planned for later this year.

National Assembly President Francisco Ameliach defended the meeting in the park, calling it "completely justified."

Ameliach convened the session after ruling party and opposition lawmakers ended up in a brief shoving match at the legislative palace on Wednesday.

The new parliamentary procedure would make it easier to move legislation through a key 21-member committee in Congress that is dominated by the opposition. Chavez supporters claim that the opposition has used this committe to block legislation.

The opposition plans to ask the Supreme Court to invalidate Friday's session in the park and intends to ignore the new parliamentary procedure in the meantime.

The new media law would ban "rude" or "vulgar" language, prohibit depiction of sex or alcohol or drug use, and ban violence during daytime.

It would also require that 60 percent of programming be produced within Venezuela, half of which would have to be created by "independent producers" approved by the government.

Broadcasters, who tend to oppose the president, say the law will give too much influence to censors hand-picked by Chavez to crack down on the mostly opposition news media.