VOA常速英语2007-Venezuela Reforms Raise Fears About Civil Rights

By Brian Wagner
Miami
18 October 2007

Venezuela's National Assembly is debating constitutional reforms that President Hugo Chavez says are necessary for his so-called 21st century socialist¹ revolution. In Miami, VOA's Brian Wagner reports that critics say the reforms may threaten civil rights and give too much power to Mr. Chavez.

The 58 proposals are the latest effort by President Chavez and his supporters to reform the constitution. They say the effort aims to reverse decades of corrupt² and unfair rule. The government-controlled National Assembly has already approved 33 of the measures and is expected to back the remaining ones in coming days.

One of the most controversial proposals would give the government new powers, such as suspending a person's right to due process and access to information, if the president declares a state of emergency.

Rights groups Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders say the changes would violate precedents³ set by the United Nations Human Rights bodies and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Earlier this year, media rights groups widely criticized Venezuela for failing to renew the license⁴ of the nation's largest television broadcaster, Radio Caracas Television, forcing it off the air. RCTV president Marcel Granier says the latest reforms pose new threats to the Venezuelan people.

Granier says the constitutional reforms threaten many basic rights in Venezuela and are a grave violation⁵ of the country's existing laws and its obligations under international treaties.

Venezuela Information Minister Willian Lara has rejected the criticism from media rights groups, saying the comments distort the reforms.

The latest proposals would alter the 1999 constitution that supporters of Mr. Chavez drafted shortly after he took power. It included changes such as extending the president's term from five years to six. The current proposals would further extend the president's term to seven years and remove term limits.

Chavez supporters say other measures will expand democracy, such as lowering the voting age to 16.

But former U.S. State Department official Roger Noriega says he believes reforms under Mr. Chavez have actually harmed democratic rights.

"When the agenda is to get elected democratically and then shred⁶ the constitutional order to reconstruct it to advance your personal, particular narrow interests, that is a problem," he said.

Noriega says Mr. Chavez also poses a threat to U.S. interests in the region through his repeated efforts to generate anti-American sentiment and complicate⁷ U.S. relationships with other Latin American nations.

In a speech in Miami last week, President Bush expressed concern about what he called the false populism promoted by some nations in the hemisphere.

But Noriega, who left the government in 2005, says he is disappointed that current U.S. officials have not done more to raise concerns about what is happening in Venezuela.

"I see tentative U.S. leadership on some of the issues," he said. "You see a march toward dictatorship in Venezuela, and very, very little said about that by the United States. That is a concern."

Venezuela's National Assembly is expected to continue debating the reforms next week. If approved, the proposals will be sent for a popular referendum in December.

1 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

2 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

3 precedents   

引用单元； 范例( precedent的名词复数 )； 先前出现的事例； 前例； 先例

参考例句：

• There is no lack of precedents in this connection. 不乏先例。
• He copied after bad precedents. 他仿效恶例。

4 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

5 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

6 shred   

v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少

参考例句：

• There is not a shred of truth in what he says.他说的全是骗人的鬼话。
• The food processor can shred all kinds of vegetables.这架食品加工机可将各种蔬菜切丝切条。

7 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。