Venezuelan draft constitution: debate between intellectuals

November 5, 2018, 03:16 by Elizabeth Borrego Rodriguez

Caracas, November 5 (Prensa Latina) The presentation of the first draft of the new Venezuelan constitution opens today the debate between intellectuals on some of its changes and relevant aspects to include in the nation's constitution.

In this regard, the scholar Luis Britto García acknowledged in a recent opinion article the changes made to the social benefits reflected in the document, as well as its impact on the economic and political aspects.

The student mentions inter alia article 340 of the draft reserve for the State which regulates the activity of research and exploitation of liquid, solid and gaseous hydrocarbons and in general of all the natural resources, and not he confines himself to confiding only liquids, as the present text tenderly.

It also refers to Article 343, which states that the Republic must retain the shareholder, not only of the state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), but also of its joint ventures.

Moreover, he stresses the importance of Article 116, which proposes harsh penalties in case of "speculation, storage, wear and tear" cartel, smuggling, smuggling, boycott and other related crimes. "

However, the writer and the essayist stop at the omission in the first article of the document, relating to the condition of immunity of the nation in the text, contrary to the previous constitution.

The current text proposes as irrevocable and irrevocable conditions freedom, sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, national self-determination and doctrine of Simon Bolívar moral patrimony and its principles of freedom, equality, justice and international peace. "

. He adds that "immunity from jurisdiction", the right and the right of the country to resolve disputes concerning the application of its laws in accordance with these and its own courts and, consequently, not to not depend on foreign courts, arbitrators or courts in their cases. The omission of this condition implies the omission of sovereignty, as has been seen repeatedly in the history of Venezuela, stressed Britto García.

For his part, the journalist and badyst Eleazar Díaz Rangel acknowledged the enrichment of these debates and he proposed as necessary element the extension of this badysis to the whole of society.

The current constitution provided for broad participation, adding thousands of proposals and suggestions to the Assembly, where they had also been discussed. Why is not such a democratic procedure repeating itself now? He wrote.

All options are now added to the discussion of the project, which would have announced that the president of the Constitutional Commission of the National Constituent Assembly would be ready in 80

The Magna Carta proposes, among other things, the reorganization of the four components of the National Armed Forces Bolivarian (FANB): Army, Aviation, Navy, National Guard, with the civil-military unit to which the militia as base.

Also stresses the increase of the presidential term of office from five to seven years, with the indefinite right of re-election and new laws allowing for the equality of marriage.

The constitutional text will enter the debate phase of the legislature. at the end of this year and later, it must be approved by consultative referendum.

tgj / ebr