Walls Call to Vote in
Venezuela
Walls that call
Venezuelans to vote Yes
or No are the visible
expression of a strong
campaign for a
referendum to choose the
path the country will
take after December 2.
The stickers and
graffiti synthetically
express different
stances on a nationwide
debate on whether the
country must take the
socialist development
path or continues to be
attached to capitalist
mechanisms.
President Hugo Chavez,
who has led a process of
changes since 1999,
proposed the reform to
speed up structural
transformation to
guarantee development
with social justice.
The president's
proposal, considered a
transition to socialism,
acknowledges the
people's (communal)
power as part of the
administration of the
State, with financial
allocations and a
decision-making
capacity.
It also proposes a new
political-administrative
distribution to boost
the equitable
development of the
country, prioritizing
the north over the
south.
Lacking alternatives,
the opposition has
focused its campaign on
fear of the reform,
expressing arguments
such as the
concentration of power,
and the elimination of
private property and
guardianship, which are
not included in the
draft reform.
One of the most common
tactics is division
among sectors that
support Chavez, claiming
that they can be
"revolutionaries" or
"Chavez's followers" but
vote against the reform.
In that regard, the
Venezuelan president
insisted that it is not
a foreign element but
part of a process aimed
at seeking better
distribution of wealth
and a system of social
justice to eradicate
poverty and
unemployment.
To counteract the
opposition's pattern,
Venezuelan officials
such as Communications
and Information Minister
William Lara called to
step up the campaign to
inform the people about
the reform.
"It is time to close a
deal of honor and find
our own people to inform
them and explain the
reform, so they can vote
Yes on December 2," Lara
said.
According to statistics,
16,109,664 Venezuelans
will be able to vote in
11,132 centers and
33,614 polling stations.
Most surveys favor the
Yes option. |
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