By Erika Tomatore, USCM Intern
August 25, 2008

Speaking before the National Press Club in Washington (DC) on August 4, Conference of Mayors President Miami Mayor Manny Diaz highlighted the objections of the U.S. Conference of Mayors to the arbitrary disqualification of otherwise eligible candidates for regional and local offices in Venezuela. He also described how Chacao-Caracas Mayor Leopoldo López and his family were detained and stripped of their passports for several hours by Venezuela’s special intelligence agency upon his return to Venezuela after attending the successful Mayors’ Hemispheric Forum held in conjunction with the 76th Annual Conference in Miami in June and hosted by Diaz.

When asked about U.S. relations in the hemisphere, Diaz told the National Press Club luncheon attendees that the Mayors Hemispheric Forum began in 2006 because, “We looked at what was happening to the South of us [here in the United States], and we started to really worry…. It is inconceivable to me how we totally and completely ignore what happens in the rest of this hemisphere. The only time we ever pay attention is when something happens in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador...Then we’re shocked....When you’re really hungry, you’re not thinking about what kind of system you’re living under. You’re thinking about how to take care of your family. If we don’t start to pay attention [to what is happening to the people of countries in South America under authoritarian regimes], it’s going to get worse then what we’ve seen [up to] today.”

On August 5, the Venezuela Supreme Court upheld its February 2008 blacklisting of several hundred candidates for local office. This, in effect, dismissed challenges to the February ruling and means that 272 mostly opposition candidates will not be permitted to appear on the ballot in November 2008.

On November 4, while millions of Americans cast their votes for their preferred candidates in the United States, the popular leader López will not be on the ballot in the race for reelection as mayor of Chacao-Caracas.

According to an article by Associated Press writers Ian James, Fabiola Sanchez, and Rachel Jones, following the dismissal of his challenge to the blacklist, López led protesters down a Caracas avenue before being blocked and tear-gassed by police. He and his group vow to continue their protests and more marches.

Lopez’s spokesperson, Isadora Zubillaga said, “It is important to remember that it is not just Leopoldo López who has been blacklisted, but also that many other important figures will not be permitted to run.” Venezuela President Hugo Chávez has accused the blacklisted candidates of corruption and offenses against the state. None of the accused have been charged or convicted in accordance with the law.

The situation in Venezuela is important to the United States, Diaz emphasized. “Mayors of South American and Central American cities are very likely to become presidents of those countries. In building relationships and contacts through the exchanges at the Hemispheric Mayors Forum, we are developing relationships today with future heads of state.”

When asked why López continues to oppose the Chávez government, Zubillaga said, “As long as you walk in Caracas and have people [living] in shanty towns with no ceilings, running water, or electricity, in a country that has the resources, something is wrong and Mayor Lopez is going to continue working until he sees justice come about.”

On August 13, Diaz sent letters to President George W. Bush; U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (DE), Chair of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and Rep. Howard L. Berman, Chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. In addition, Diaz has sent letters stating The U.S. Conference of Mayors’ solidarity with the democratic aspirations of the Venezuela people to His Excellency Jose Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of American States; President Florisvaldo Fier of the Mercosur Parliament, similar to the European Parliament, all stating the mayors “grave concern and indignation regarding the disqualification of 272 otherwise eligible candidates from Venezuelan state and local elections next November.” Mercosur, commonly referred to as the Common Market of the Southern Hemisphere, is the leading trading bloc among South American countries. Diaz also sent a letter of protest to the Venezuelan Ambassador to the United States.

Diaz also sent a letter of protest to the Venezuelan Ambassador to the United States.

When asked if López had been informed about Diaz’s letter, Zubillaga said, “We are very grateful for the awareness that Mayor Diaz and the Conference of Mayors are creating around our case.”

The United States Conference of Mayors policy resolution entitled, “Civil and Human Rights for the People of Venezuela,” was adopted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in June at the 76th Annual Conference of Mayors in Miami. This resolution was included with the letter to the President and other officials. The resolution states that the Conference of Mayors 1) “unequivocally condemns the restriction of political rights by the administrative actions of a government agency that does not guarantee a process concordant with minimum judicial guarantees established by the Venezuelan Constitution and the international treaties to which it is a signatory,” and 2) unequivocally condemns the summary and arbitrary disqualification without due judicial process of otherwise eligible candidates for election and reelection for the narrow political ends of the Venezuelan executive branch.

On August 18, López appeared at a public hearing at Mercosur, headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay. López submitted a report on the blacklisted candidates for regional and local office in November to the group’s Human Rights Commission.

While López provided testimony, representatives of the Chávez government were also present. The previous day, in an unprecedented move, the President of the Commission was asked by the Venezuela government representative for the session to be closed and requested that López be told to leave the room. López appeared before the Commission on August 19 without cameras.

Venezuela’s government representative is defending the position of the Controller General, an agency of the Venezuelan executive branch.

“The Venezuela government,” says Zubillaga, “is applying political pressure with [strong-arm tactics]. The Venezuela Government has said it would provide all the oil Paraguay needs to function without restrictions and that’s part of the oil diplomacy that President [Chávez] is [pushing] throughout the hemisphere.” Paraguay and Brazil are the two remaining countries that have yet to ratify Venezuela as a Mercosur member.