IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 161 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the need 

for free, democratic, transparent, and fair elections in the Bolivarian 

Republic of Venezuela without threats or intimidation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 11, 2009 

Mr. MACK submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the need for free, democratic, transparent, and fair 

elections in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela without 

threats or intimidation. 

Whereas the Venezuelan Constitution provides that the President of Venezuela is limited to two six-year terms; 

Whereas subsequent to Venezuelan President Hugo Cha ́vez’s 

election in 2006, he immediately called for an end to 

presidential term limits so that he could run again; 

Whereas Cha ́vez has repeatedly undertaken efforts to extend 

his rule by overturning term limits; 

Whereas, on December 2, 2007, the Government of Venezuela held a constitutional referendum on repealing 


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•HRES 161 IH 

presidential term limits and suspending certain constitutional rights; 

Whereas the 2007 referendum backed by Cha ́vez was definitively defeated by the people of Venezuela; 

Whereas Cha ́vez chose to ignore the mandate of the Venezuelan people and instituted many of the provisions defeated in the 2007 referendum via presidential decree; 

Whereas Venezuela’s November 2008 municipal elections 

were preceded by several measures by Cha ́vez to thwart 

the opposition, such as attacks on property rights, 

threats against the media and the freedom of the press, 

and threats to strip future funding if opposition gubernatorial candidates were elected; 

Whereas Cha ́vez fulfilled these threats when opposition leader, Antonio Ledezma, won the Caracas mayorship by revoking Ledezma’s authority over the 8,000-member police 

force, Caracas’ 18-hospital health system, and 1,200 

sports and recreation facilities; 

Whereas, in November 2008, Cha ́vez once again proposed a 

constitutional amendment that removes presidential term 

limits, thereby allowing him to rule Venezuela until at 

least 2019; 

Whereas the constitutional referendum will be held on February 15, 2009; 

Whereas Cha ́vez has increased his rhetoric against university 

students who have organized protests ahead of the February referendum and has used the threat of ‘‘civil war’’ 

if he loses the vote; 

Whereas the United States is committed to promoting freedom, security, prosperity, democracy, and the rule of law; 


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•HRES 161 IH 

Whereas the Charter of the Organization of American States, 

of which the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a member state, stipulates that ‘‘[t]he peoples of the Americas 

have a right to democracy and their governments have an 

obligation to promote and defend it’’; 

Whereas democracy requires a system of political parties and 

organizations, the separation of powers, the independence 

of the branches of government, respect for human rights 

and fundamental freedoms, the rule of law, a free and 

independent press, and the guarantee of periodic, free, 

and fair elections; 

Whereas Venezuela was once a thriving democracy with a vibrant free market system; 

Whereas under Cha ́vez, the Venezuelan economy has experienced substantial problems and currently has the highest 

inflation in Latin America and is experiencing shortages 

of basic food staples; 

Whereas in the years since Cha ́vez first took office, he has 

taken deliberate steps to eliminate freedoms and launch 

his ‘‘Bolivarian Revolution’’; 

Whereas Cha ́vez continues to pursue close ties with state 

sponsors of terrorism and international terrorist groups; 

Whereas international human rights organizations have consistently condemned Cha ́vez’s efforts to weaken democratic institutions and human rights guarantees in Venezuela; 

Whereas Cha ́vez unilaterally increased the size of the Venezuelan Supreme Court and appointed numerous proChavez judges in clear contravention of the principles of 

democracy and separation of powers; and 


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•HRES 161 IH 

Whereas Cha ́vez has packed the National Election Council 

with pro-Cha ́vez directors who are not able to guarantee 

a fair and transparent vote: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) calls for free and fair elections in the 

3 Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, conducted in ac4 cordance with the standards of responsible nations 

5 and free from interference, threats, and intimida6 tion; 

7 (2) supports the efforts of the people of Ven8 ezuela and its democratic civil society to create the 

9 necessary conditions for free and fair elections; 

10 (3) strongly condemns the recent actions of 

11 Hugo Cha ́vez as detrimental to democracy and a vio12 lation of the Charter of the Organization of Amer13 ican States; 

14 (4) affirms its strong opposition to all political 

15 elements that continue to subvert democracy in Ven16 ezuela; and 

17 (5) urges the Secretary of State to use all 

18 means at the disposal of the United States to pro19 mote free, democratic, transparent, and fair elec20 tions in Venezuela. 

Æ 


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