OAS “fully supports” decision on Chávez’s inauguration.
In response to the opposition's appeal against postponing Hugo Chávez's inauguration ceremony, the Organization of American States declared that all internal avenues had been exhausted and the matter was "resolved"; the people took to the streets of Caracas on Thursday in support of the re-elected president.
247 – The appeal from the Venezuelan opposition was not heeded by the Organization of American States (OAS). The organization declared this Friday, to the newspaper El Universal, that it "fully supports" the decision of the Venezuelan Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the president of the country's Supreme Court of Justice, Luisa Estella Morales, concluded that it would be constitutional. The postponement of Hugo Chávez's inauguration this Thursday, the 10th, as indeed happened, was due to the health condition of the re-elected president, who is hospitalized in Cuba.
According to the OAS, all internal avenues have been exhausted and the matter is therefore resolved. "The Executive proposed, the Legislative considered, and the Judiciary decided. All avenues have been exhausted; no branch of government has failed to issue a pronouncement," said OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza. "The OAS fully respects, as it could not be otherwise, the decision taken by the constitutional powers of Venezuela regarding the inauguration of the president," he added.
However, according to the opposition, the postponement of Chávez's inauguration, with no new date yet set, violates the Constitution. "The magistrates of the highest court made their decision to solve the problem of the ruling party," protested Henrique Capriles, the opposition leader. According to him, the court's conclusion serves the interests of Chávez's United Socialist Party of Venezuela, and Vice President Nicolás Maduro, appointed by the president to govern the country in his absence, was not elected by the people.