Gringo
2008-10-08 20:36:11
Morales himself freely admits to a rather cavalier attitude, or should we say a cocalero attitude, towards the legal process.
“When some jurist tells me: ‘Evo, you are making a juridical mistake, what you are doing is illegal’, well, I do it even if it is illegal. Afterwards I tell the lawyers: ‘if it is illegal, you make it legal, that’s what you have studied for,’” added the ruler.
Here Evo manipulates a vote on the Consitution without the presence of the opposition.
By now it is pretty much clear what is the government’s strategy to push its agenda. It seems that Morales has decided to just leave the opposition out of the decision process. First, we simply have to look at the way the MAS Constitutional Assembly approved their Constitution. According to various reports and personal accounts, the MAS decided to take the assembly sessions to La Glorieta (the military academy in Sucre). The directory argued that in the city of Sucre there was not enough security. Which was true, due to the demonstrators or citizens who were gathered around the building where the assembly was meeting. So president Lazarte and her MAS colleagues, took the sessions to the military academy because it was secure and it laid within the boundaries of the city, thus meeting the technical problems raised by the law. At the same time, the opposition was not informed and (according to some news reports) was not even allowed to go to the place. It was in that manner, that MAS, with around 130 assembly members, could rush through the passing of the new constitution.
Here is more evidence from February.
Well, the government has apparently gotten tired of talking and has decided to “push” through its will. Yesterday, the government faction in Congress “approved” three laws, with the help of a ring of security supporters outside the parliament building. Opposition parliamentarians could not enter the building. So, the government approved the referendum law which will ratify the new constitution, the referendum law which will ask people on how large the property of land can be and modified a law which was being interpreted by the departmental governments giving them power to call for referendums. The modification of the last law, of course, is giving the central government the exclusive power to call on such referendums.
Like Thugo Chavez, Evo sees the law as a sham, and has no hesitation at trying to pull a fast one.
