Constitutional Crisis in Venezuela

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Local News

Courtesy of the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White

For the last three years, Venezuela has been in a socioeconomic crisis which has led to the lack of basic necessities such as food and medicine. More recently, the country has been rocked by daily violent protest for the past two months due to the abuses by the Venezuelan Supreme Court, who sought to eliminate the powers of the Legislature solely because the Legislature is not ideologically aligned with the President or the Supreme Court. As in the United States, each branch is meant to be subject to the check and balances of government, and to strip one branch of its powers is in clear violation of the Constitution. After international outcry, the Supreme Court was forced to return the powers to the Legislature but the damage had already been done.

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Local News

We have seen the courage and perseverance of the Venezuelan people against an authoritarian government being led by the Venezuelan students. They have relentlessly protested day in and day out, fighting for their civil and basic human rights, going up against military and paramilitary forces that respond with violent and often illegal practices. The body count has risen to 50 in the past two months, with the vast majority of victims being students. We will be communicating via Skype with student body presidents from various Venezuelan universities and hearing from Venezuelans living in the United States and how we can help. The Illinois Secretary of State will then be issuing a proclamation in support of the students. Please come join us as we show support for the Venezuelan people and their students, know their plight, and stand in solidarity with their fight for democracy. The event will take place on Thursday, May 25th at 10a.m., at John Marshall Law School, 315 S. Plymouth Ct., Chicago, IL.

Comments are closed.