Recall rulings in California and Venezuela: Very similar yet so different .

Recall rulings in California and Venezuela: Very similar yet so different.

I am sure that some people will try to draw parallels between the three judge panel  canceling the California recall and the decisions taken in Venezuela to block the recall referendum. To me it simply shows that the same biased, partial and corrupt judges and politicians exist all over the world. In fact, the California decision is as absurd as the ones here. Among other reasons:

-If the voting machines are not good enough for the vote on the recall, they should not be good enough to vote on anything, whether candidates or issues until the problems are solved. Thus no election should take place until it is fixed. But this does not make sense either.

-Should Democracy be in suspended animation until the problems are solved? For how long? When is form more important than substance? When should the will of the people be more important?

-The three Judge panel is composed of three Democrats and is supposed to be the most liberal (read pro-Democratic party) in the US. And we thought we had it bad here in Venezuela with the Electoral Board being three to two against us.

-I would like to ask: Are these the same voting machines with  which Davies was chosen as a candidate for the Democrats and was later elected as Governor? Did anybody complain then? Should his elections be erased too in the interest of Justice or Democracy?

-I hate to be innovative or futuristic, but couldn’t they use something like pencil and paper to vote with? Too complicated? People don’t know how to write anymore? People can cheat with paper ballots?

I think in the end the difference is very clear, in every country there are biased, politically corrupt people or individuals with a limited understanding of what democracy truly is. Form can never replace substance and the people’s participation is indeed at the conceptual foundation of Democracy. The difference is that while Democracy has been suspended in Venezuela since January 23d. of this year, I will bet that a quick solution is found to the California problem short term by a system that still functions. People are the same all over, the difference is that in California the system still has checks and balances. Here we don’t, in Venezuela all we have is the citizens fighting for their freedom versus a system that only responds to the whims of one power hungry person. By this time next year, Californians may not even remember this episode, we Venezuelans may not be able vote for years to come……As simple as that. [Miguel Octavio: Venezuela]

I’m not so optimistic about a quick solution being found in California, but he does have a point–it’s not as bad when it’s only a Governor, and not the President.