The court stated that under articles 148 and 149 of the Criminal Code, people can be imprisoned for insulting "by speech or in writing" the president, the vice president, the president of the legislature, the chief justice and numerous other government officials, or by showing them "lack of respect in any other way." Article 150 prohibits anyone from insulting the legislature, the judiciary and the cabinet. Human rights activists pointed out that the court's decisions disregarded, not only democracy and the right of free speech, but also article 13 of the American convention on human rights and censorship. In 1995 the Inter American Commission of Human Rights published a report on 'insult laws' with the conclusion "the special protection desacato laws (laws endangering freedom of the press) ... is not congruent with the objective of a democratic society to foster public debate."
The Chavez administration saw the Supreme Court decision as vindication of their ongoing vocal, at time brutal, attacks on the media. They assumed the media should and could be reined in. Decisions made by the government prohibited television and radio from reporting on violent demonstrations and riots. As the world's human rights communities were sounding the alarm, the president and his top ministers did not yield.
The most alarming move by the president and chief of staff team is the plan to create a reserve territorial army, apparently following the Cuban model. The army will introduce the new units as operational by June 24, 2004, when the territorial reserve force will include 250,000 men, comprised of soldiers and volunteers. The first units were introduced as they paraded with the army on the last Armed Forces Day. The opposition reacted immediately with criticism claiming the Chavez plan was intended to enable the government to declare a state of emergency whenever it suited its purpose.
Western intelligence officers are convinced the new territorials are being formed and trained with direct Cuban involvement. Cuba is also seen as being behind Chavez's friendly overtures to the Colombian left-wing guerrillas.***
Step 1: Buy a business, a franchise if you can. "Once the deal is closed, the buyer will feel the sweet sound of the cash register announcing cash flow in his favor, without losing time," the article says. But also: "Be happy with what you have while you go after what you want." It is timely advice for the Venezuelans flooding into Florida these days. Driven by political and economic instability in their homeland, many prosperous Venezuelans accustomed to visiting Miami as weekend tourists are putting down roots here. In a slow and sometimes painful settling-in, they are investing in real estate, starting businesses and establishing cultural institutions.
Many of them say how long they stay depends on whether they can oust leftist President Hugo Chavez. But others have decided to settle here. "I won't go back to Venezuela," said Manuel Pita, owner of a gas station and El Arepaso, where recent immigrants stop for arepas, or fat corn tortillas drenched in margarine and filled with meat or cheese. Pita said Venezuela is no longer livable, and adapting to the United States is not hard: "You just have to keep your head about you and work." The 2000 Census estimated there were 41,000 Venezuelans living in Florida, more than half of them in Miami-Dade County. Some experts speculate the population has increased by as much as 80 percent since then. ***