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 regard-
ing 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 Presi-
dent 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 Ven-
ezuela held a constitutional referendum on repealing 
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•HRES 161 IH 
presidential term limits and suspending certain constitu-
tional rights; 
Whereas the 2007 referendum backed by Cha´vez was defini-
tively defeated by the people of Venezuela; 
Whereas Cha´vez chose to ignore the mandate of the Ven-
ezuelan people and instituted many of the provisions de-
feated 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 guber-
natorial candidates were elected; 
Whereas Cha´vez fulfilled these threats when opposition lead-
er, Antonio Ledezma, won the Caracas mayorship by re-
voking 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 Feb-
ruary 15, 2009; 
Whereas Cha´vez has increased his rhetoric against university 
students who have organized protests ahead of the Feb-
ruary referendum and has used the threat of ‘‘civil war’’ 
if he loses the vote; 
Whereas the United States is committed to promoting free-
dom, 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 mem-
ber 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 vi-
brant free market system; 
Whereas under Cha´vez, the Venezuelan economy has experi-
enced 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 con-
sistently condemned Cha´vez’s efforts to weaken demo-
cratic institutions and human rights guarantees in Ven-
ezuela; 
Whereas Cha´vez unilaterally increased the size of the Ven-
ezuelan Supreme Court and appointed numerous pro- 
Chavez 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 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) calls for free and fair elections in the 
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, conducted in ac-
cordance with the standards of responsible nations 
and free from interference, threats, and intimida-
tion; 
(2) supports the efforts of the people of Ven-
ezuela and its democratic civil society to create the 
necessary conditions for free and fair elections; 
(3) strongly condemns the recent actions of 
Hugo Cha´vez as detrimental to democracy and a vio-
lation of the Charter of the Organization of Amer-
ican States; 
(4) affirms its strong opposition to all political 
elements that continue to subvert democracy in Ven-
ezuela; and 
(5) urges the Secretary of State to use all 
means at the disposal of the United States to pro-
mote free, democratic, transparent, and fair elec-
tions in Venezuela. 
Æ 
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