[Readers will
probably remember that shortly after his presidential election victory in early
December last year Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez called
on all the parties that support him to join together to form one united
party, the "United Socialist Party of Venezuela." Not every party agreed.
Jerónimo Carrera, Chairman of the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV), who has
recently been on a private visit to London, gave our correspondent
Kate Clark this interview, explaining his party's reasons for that decision. Mr
Carrera is a well-known journalist in Venezuela,
writing a weekly column for 2 Venezuelan newspapers, "La Razón" and "Tribuna
Popular".]
Jerónimo Carrera, Chairman of the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV)
Venezuela's Communist Party and the PSUV: To Join or Not to Join?
By Kate Clark - Red Pepper Venezuela Blog
Friday October 11th 2007
When Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez launched his idea of a single leftwing party last December - during an event to celebrate his successful re-election - he threw down the gauntlet to all the parties on the left – join or risk being left out.
Not the most diplomatic of leaders, the charismatic Chavez announced the idea more as a decision already taken than a consultation with the parties which support him – something not perhaps calculated to bring on board any doubting Thomases.
So what has been the reaction so far of these parties? One of the most influential parties in Venezuela is the Communist Party. Whilst not huge in membership, it polled some 350,000 votes – almost 3% - in the last presidential elections. Formed in 1931, it's the oldest of all Venezuela's political parties. It has seen dictatorships and legal governments come and go, it has experienced operating both legally and underground, it has rebuffed perceived interference into its internal affairs by other Communist Parties, it fought an armed struggle for 3 years in the sixties, and now openly declares support for the Colombian guerrilla movement, FARC.
At 85, Jeronimo Carrera - Chairman of the Venezuelan Communist Party - has seen off many a party and many a government. Amazingly active and agile, he writes a weekly column for 2 independent newspapers and is instrumental in shaping the Party's policies. "We've got 3 generations of Venezuelans in our Party who have lived through periods of clandestinity and periods of legality and have experienced repression and difficulties in their careers because of their Party membership," Carrera explains. "Now all of a sudden we get this call for us to dissolve and join another party. But our Party is not like a car, or a house that I or the leadership can just dispose of as we think fit. We are merely the custodians of our Party, so we cannot take any hasty decisions concerning Chavez's proposal."
In March the Party held a 1000-delegate Extraordinary Congress which voted not to join Chavez's new Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (United Socialist Party of Venezuela; PSUV), for the time being at least. "We fully support Hugo Chavez, and have done now for over 10 years," Carrera explained. "But the new party has yet to define its programme and its objectives, so we cannot risk dissolving our Party to join something as yet unknown."
"We don't yet know if it will be a social democratic or a truly socialist party. We don't know whether it will join the Socialist International, as the Sandinistas did in Nicaragua in the eighties. We couldn't accept the idea of joining the Socialist International, which has never done anything for the cause of socialism. Those social democratic parties get into power but then never really challenge the status quo. We could never be party to that."
After the Party's Extraordinary Congress, a small group including a few Central Committee members, decided to join Chavez's new party. "We haven't expelled them. No one is obliged to stay in our Party. They will see with time whether they will be more useful there than in our Party."
At present the Party has 7 deputies in Parliament and President Chavez recently appointed a leading Communist – David Velasquez - to his Cabinet. Chavez has also expressed understanding for the Party's position on remaining outside the PSUV.
"There is definitely a revolution going on in Venezuela," Jeronimo Carrera declares. "It's not a bourgeois one, nor is it a proletarian revolution. We think the term "Bolivarian Revolution" is correct, because it's not nationalistic, but it is patriotic and, like the dream of the great Venezuelan patriot of the 19th century, Simon Bolivar, aims to unite the different countries of Latin America."
"It's a revolution influenced by both Christianity and Marxism," he goes on, pointing out that Chavez himself is a committed Christian. "If the Revolution advances towards a socialist society, as for example in Cuba, then we'll continue to back it."
The immense support for Hugo Chavez among the Venezuelan people, Carrera says, is proof that the Venezuelan President is keeping his promises to the electorate – something rare in politicians throughout the world. It is undeniable that under Chavez Venezuela has made incredible progress in health and education, for instance. There's now free health care for all, what's more, healthcare made accessible to the poor by new clinics and hospitals in the areas where they live – the Barrios Adentro scheme – often staffed by Cuban doctors under bilateral government agreements. Mass literacy programmes and education for all sectors of the population are hugely appreciated by the voters, as are the new low-price supermarkets the Government has set up in the barrios, and all this translates into votes. Added to this, his undoubted huge personal charisma, the PCV Chairman says, has resulted in Chavez achieving almost 70% of the vote in 2 elections. For the first time in the country's history, people see that the revenue from Venezuela's massive oil reserves is being used for the benefit of the entire people, not just for one section as in the past. This has awakened new feelings of pride, self-confidence and of fraternity with other peoples – a spirit of true internationalism, according to the Communist Party Chairman.
Carrera worries about what will happen when the oil reserves run out. "Oil the world over is in the hands of monopolies," he points out. "The first country to escape from that stranglehold was Russia after the 1917 Revolution. But now we see that what was once Soviet oil in the Caspian is once again in the hands of Western monopolies."
"What we want to do is to wrest Venezuelan oil from these monopolies, but we cannot do it alone. We are one of the few countries in the world that have oil. When OPEC was set up, it looked as if there could be an escape from the West's monopolisation of the world's oil. But Saudi Arabia is controlled by US imperialism, Iraq has been invaded for its oil wealth, Libya's Gaddafi has been placated...."
"Chavez's rebellious, independent course is seen as a challenge to US hegemony, so the threat of invasion still hangs over us," Jeronimo Carrera warns. "Despite the failure of the 2002 right-wing coup, the US and the Right will use any possible pretext to bring down our Government."
"When you see what they have done in Iraq, you could say it's almost surprising that they haven't invaded Venezuela!" Such an outcome must be avoided at all costs, he goes on, and everything possible is being done to prevent aggression of different kinds, such as sabotage of the country's oilfields.
Hugo Chavez's policy is based on the concept of multipolarity, which means fostering the best possible relations with all the countries of the world without discrimination, including the USA and all the countries of Europe. The aim is to prevent George Bush being able to form a coalition against Venezuela of the kind there is currently against Iran.
"It would be very difficult for the USA to get any resolution against Venezuela passed in the United Nations," Carrera declares. "The world has changed: gone are the days when the US could, from afar, order a coup d'etat in some other country."
Mindful of the divisions within Chile's Popular Unity Government under President Salvador Allende 30 years ago, which surely contributed to that Government's demise, could it be that it might be better for the future of the Venezuelan Revolution if there were just one single party of government – the PSUV? His answer was unequivocal.
"In Chile President Allende had less than 40% of the vote, so he had to contend not only with the Right, but the centre too. By contrast, Chavez has won practically 70% of the electorate, and more than once. Also I think it was easier in the seventies for the USA to unleash aggression against Chile – the US Government is far more discredited now than it was then."
Whether the Venezuelan Communist Party Chairman's optimism on that score is misplaced or not only time will tell. When we see the sort of media campaign which was whipped up before the invasion of Iraq to convince the British public that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction which could reach us in 45 minutes, thus posing an imminent threat to us, it's not too difficult to envisage a scenario whereby an elected and charismatic leader like Chavez could be vilified, incessantly called a dictator and made to seem a threat to other countries. Already some sections of our media have been liberal in their use of the term 'dictator' in relation to Chavez.
"The formation of one single party of government in Venezuela would not, in our opinion, be the best option," Carrera concludes. "After all, there are many examples in history of disunity even within one party - take the Communist Party of the Soviet Union for instance. Within that party there were different groups, different interests, and so they lost power."
"Success in the revolutionary process does not depend on whether there is one party or more than one taking part in the process. Lenin would have liked to keep the Socialist Revolutionary Party as an ally of the Bolsheviks, but that didn't turn out to be possible in the particular historical circumstances."
What is important in Venezuela today, Carrera insists, is that the different parties supporting the process agree on one policy. They should have as a strategic aim to win over Christian left-wing opinion and not let it go to the Right. At present the country is divided into two camps – the Chavistas and the anti-Chavistas. Only about 10% can be considered of neither camp, he claims.
"We support the process, but we don't call ourselves Chavistas. We don't use the term Chavista, but we consider ourselves a part of the Bolivarian Revolution. We are not Chavistas because we don't believe in definitions on the basis of a particular personality. It's true that we use the term "Marxist", but that's just by tradition, it's not really correct. We are dialectical materialists, which is a philosophical, or ideological definition."
"But whether we use the term Chavista or not, we recognise that Hugo Chavez represents an extremely important and valuable card, not just for Venezuela, but for all the countries of America."
Jeronimo Carrera is understandably cautious when referring to Chavez, Chavismo and the future. The Communist movement has had enough setbacks due to "personality cults" that it has learnt to its cost not to make the same mistakes again. (He relates with distaste once having had to file past Lenin's body in its Red Square mausoleum as part of a Party delegation, and points out that neither Lenin himself nor his wife Krupskaya were ever in favour of his corpse being embalmed.)
"The Venezuelan Communist Party does not form part of the Government, but we are certainly not part of the opposition," Carrera says. Opposition parties such as the Democratic Action Party (AD) andthe Social Christian Party, COPEI, operate freely in Venezuela today.
"We consider ourselves allies of the PSUV, but we feel we can be most useful by offering 'critical support', or constructive criticism when needed." Another danger that worries Carrera is that of opportunism, which tends to arise when you have one single party of government.
But he decries the license, rather than freedom, enjoyed by some of the opposition media in Venezuela. "They openly insult and denigrate the President in the most scurrilous way possible," he declares. "I am sure in no other country in the world would the media be allowed to use such insulting language against an elected President."
It's no secret that Venezuela's Cuban allies would prefer Venezuela's Communists to join Chavez's PSUV rather than remain outside. For the time being, the PCV has decided to stay outside. Only history will determine whether it was the right decision.
Interesting. It turns out that the Venezuelan "revolution" is neither bourgeois nor proletarian, not even nationalistic (what used to be a "safe" term for no revolution at all). It is "patriotic", whatever that means.
The Communists are not "chavistas" and they don't condone "personality cults" and yet Chávez has been idolized and almost deified, like Bolívar.
What a joke is this "revolution" turning out to be!
Posted by: Henry | October 12, 2007 at 04:50 PM
Dear President Hugo Chavez,
I have read about Secretary of Defense Gates
telling you not to invest monies outside
your country.I understand the amount of
pressure my internet e mail (asking you to finance Manuel Gonzales appeal)has placed on you and I thought you should know I am willing to head the Freedom Foundation if you are willing to finance it.This foundation will be praised by the American people once it starts to show productivity.
Freeing those here in our prisons who had
poor lawyers representing them at their trials will be praised by the American population.You and I both know it will take strength to get this started,but I'm sure
both of us have the courage to see it through.Mr.President,Manuel Gonzales will need $30,000 as soon as possible due to the fact that his appeal needs to be submitted by November 25,2007.If you are interested as I believe you should be in creating this enlightened foundation here,I would expect a telephone call from someone in your Government within a short period of time.Mr.Gonzales attorneys will need at least two weeks to prepare their appeal so please keep that in mind.Thank you Mr. President for giving me your timely consideration concerning Manuel.
Douglas Field
Posted by: Douglas Field | October 13, 2007 at 11:33 AM
SENATOR OBAMA, PLEASE TELL AMERICA YOUR FEELINGS ON THIS US JUDICIAL INJUSTICE ??
WITH 80% OF THE BLACK AMERICAN VOTERS SAYING THEY SUPPORT SENATOR OBAMA IN THIS NEXT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, IT IS ONLY FAIR FOR EVERYONE TO KNOW PRIOR BEING ELECTED THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES HOW THIS DEMOCRATIC SENATOR TRULY FEELS ABOUT THIS AMERICAN JUDICIAL HORROR CONTINUING TO INFLICT GRAVE HARM ON THE BLACK AMERICAN FAMILIES AND THEIR COMMUNITIES NATIONWIDE ??????
** SADLY THIS REPRESSIVE JUDICIAL INJUSTICE HAS BECOME AN AMERICAN ART FORM !!!
THE US SUPREME COURT GAVE ENEMY COMBATANTS FEDERAL APPEAL HC RIGHTS LAWYERS AND PROPER ACCESS TO US FEDERAL COURTS,AND POORER AMERICANS (MANY EVEN ON DEATH ROW) ARE DENIED PROPER FEDERAL APPEAL LEGAL REPRESENTATION TO OUR US FEDERAL COURTS OF APPEAL, AND ROTTING IN AMERICAN PRISONS NATIONWIDE ?????????
**** INNOCENT AMERICANS ARE DENIED REAL HC RIGHTS WITH THEIR FEDERAL APPEALS ! THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE $LOWLY FINDING OUT HOW EA$Y IT I$ FOR MIDDLE CLA$$ AND WORKING POOR AMERICAN$ TO FALL VICTIM TO OUR U$ MONETARY JUDICIAL $Y$TEM.
****WHEN THE US INNOCENT WERE ABANDONED BY THE GUILTY **** The prison experts have reported that there are 100,000 innocent Americans currently being falsely imprisoned along with the 2,300,000 total US prison population nationwide. Since our US Congress has never afforded poor prison inmates federal appeal legal counsel for their federal retrials,they have effectively closed the doors on these tens of thousands of innocent citizens ever being capable of possibly exonerating themselves to regain their freedom through being granted new retrials.
This same exact unjust situation was happening in our Southern States when poor and mostly uneducated Black Americans were being falsely imprisoned for endless decades without the needed educational skills to properly submit their own written federal trial appeals.
This devious and deceptive judicial process of making our poor and innocent prison inmates formulate and write their own federal appeal legal cases for possible retrials on their state criminal cases,is still in effect today even though everyone in our US judicial system knows that without proper legal representation, these tens of thousands of innocent prison inmates will be denied their rightful opportunities of ever being granted new trials from our federal appeal judges!!
Sadly, the true US *legal* Federal Appeal situation that occurs when any of our uneducated American prison inmates are forced to attempt to submit their own written Federal Appeals (from our prisons nationwide) without the assistance of proper legal counsel, is that they all are in reality being denied their legitimate rights for Habeas Corpus and will win any future Supreme Court Case concerning this injustice!
For our judicial system and our US Congressional Leaders Of The Free World to continue to pretend that this is a real and fair opportunity for our American Middle Class and Working Poor Citizens, only delays the very needed future change of Federal Financing of all these Federal appeals becoming a normal formula of Our American judicial system.
It was not so very long ago that Public Defenders became a Reality in this country.Prior that legal reality taking place, their were also some who thought giving anyone charged with a crime a free lawyer was a waste of taxpayers $$.
This FACADE and HORROR of our Federal Appeal proce$$ is not worthy of the Greatest Country In The World!
***GREAT SOCIETIES THAT DO NOT PROTECT EVEN THEIR INNOCENT, BECOME THE GUILTY!
A MUST READ ABOUT AMERICAN INJUSTICE:: 1) YAHOO AND 2) GOOGLE MANNY GONZALES THE KID THAT EVERYONE FORGOT IN THE CA PRISON SYSTEM. ** A JUDICIAL RIDE OF ONES LIFE !
lawyersforpooramericans@yahoo.com
Posted by: DOUGLAS FIELD | August 29, 2008 at 08:27 PM
DOES GOD NEED TO LOBBY OUR US CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS OF THE FREE WORLD ON BEHALF OF OUR POORER AMERICAN’S SENATOR OBAMA,OR ARE YOU WATCHING OUT FOR THEM ??
SURELY OUR US CONGRESS & US SUPREME COURT BOTH KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A STATE MURDER OF TROY DAVIS IN GEORGIA OR A POSSIBLE EXECUTION OF TROY DAVIS IN GEORGIA???
OUR US CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS OF THE FREE WORLD CONTINUE TO DENY MIDDLE CLASS AND WORKING POOR AMERICANS PROPER LEGAL REPRESENTATION EVEN THOUGH WRONGFUL EXECUTIONS & FALSE INCARCERATIONS CONTINUE ALL ACROSS AMERICA ???
*** 700 BILLION $$$ AVAILABLE FOR US BAILOUT, & NO $$$ FOR ALL POORER AMERICANS PROPER LEGAL REPRESENTATION ???????
WHERE ARE AMERICA ‘S RELIGIOUS LEADERS ??
SENATOR OBAMA, THIS JUDICIAL INJUSTICE HAS BECOME AN AMERICAN ART FORM, AND NO LONGER CAN BE KEPT HIDDEN OR SECRET FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE EVEN IF CERTAIN (501c3) U$ RELIGIOU$ LEADER$ HAVE BEEN $ILENCED ??
LETS ALL HOPE OUR MEDIA FRIENDS CONTINUE TO SHOW AN INTEREST IN REPORTING ON THIS AMERICAN HORROR FACING THESE (TENS OF THOUSANDS) FORGOTTEN AND TRAPPED POORER AMERICANS, AND HOW THIS PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDER HANDLES THIS VERY SERIOUS ISSUE FACING AMERICA’S LATINO AND BLACK AMERICAN COMMUNITIES ????
WITH 80% OF THE BLACK AMERICAN VOTERS SAYING THEY SUPPORT SENATOR OBAMA IN THIS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, IT IS ONLY FAIR FOR EVERYONE TO KNOW PRIOR BEING ELECTED OUR NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES HOW THIS DEMOCRATIC SENATOR TRULY FEELS ABOUT THIS AMERICAN JUDICIAL INJUSTICE CONTINUING TO INFLICT GRAVE HARM ON THE BLACK & LATINO AMERICAN FAMILIES AND THEIR COMMUNITIES NATIONWIDE ??????
*** WHEN GOD’S FACE BECAME VERY RED ***
THE US SUPREME COURT GAVE ENEMY COMBATANTS FEDERAL APPEAL HC RIGHTS LAWYERS AND PROPER ACCESS TO US FEDERAL COURTS,AND POORER AMERICANS (MANY EVEN ON DEATH ROW) ARE DENIED PROPER FEDERAL APPEAL LEGAL REPRESENTATION TO OUR US FEDERAL COURTS OF APPEAL, AND ROTTING IN AMERICAN PRISONS NATIONWIDE ?????????
**** INNOCENT AMERICANS ARE DENIED REAL HC RIGHTS WITH THEIR FEDERAL APPEALS !
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE $LOWLY FINDING OUT HOW EA$Y IT I$ FOR MIDDLE CLA$$ AND WORKING POOR AMERICAN$ TO FALL VICTIM TO OUR U$ MONETARY JUDICIAL $Y$TEM.
****WHEN THE US INNOCENT WERE ABANDONED BY THE GUILTY ****
The prison experts have reported that there are 100,000 innocent Americans currently being falsely imprisoned along with the 2,300,000 total US prison population nationwide.
Since our US Congress has never afforded poor prison inmates federal appeal legal counsel for their federal retrials,they have effectively closed the doors on these tens of thousands of innocent citizens ever being capable of possibly exonerating themselves to regain their freedom through being granted new retrials.
This same exact unjust situation was happening in our Southern States when poor and mostly uneducated Black Americans were being falsely imprisoned for endless decades without the needed educational skills to properly submit their own written federal trial appeals.
This devious and deceptive judicial process of making our poor and innocent prison inmates formulate and write their own federal appeal legal cases for possible retrials on their state criminal cases,is still in effect today even though everyone in our US judicial system knows that without proper legal representation, these tens of thousands of innocent prison inmates will be denied their rightful opportunities of ever being granted new trials from our federal appeal judges!!
Sadly, the true US *legal* Federal Appeal situation that occurs when any of our uneducated American prison inmates are forced to attempt to submit their own written Federal Appeals (from our prisons nationwide) without the assistance of proper legal counsel, is that they all are in reality being denied their legitimate rights for Habeas Corpus with our US FEDERAL COURTS and will win any future Supreme Court Case concerning this injustice!
For our judicial system and our US Congressional Leaders Of The Free World to continue to pretend that this is a real and fair opportunity for our American Middle Class and Working Poor Citizens, only delays the very needed future change of Federal Financing of all these Federal appeals becoming a normal formula of Our American judicial system.
It was not so very long ago that Public Defenders became a Reality in this country.Prior that legal reality taking place, their were also some who thought giving anyone charged with a crime a free lawyer was a waste of taxpayers $$.
This FACADE and HORROR of our Federal Appeal proce$$ is not worthy of the Greatest Country In The World!
***GREAT SOCIETIES THAT DO NOT PROTECT EVEN THEIR INNOCENT, BECOME THE GUILTY!
A MUST READ ABOUT AMERICAN INJUSTICE:
1) YAHOO 2) GOOGLE
MANNY GONZALES THE KID THAT EVERYONE FORGOT IN THE CA PRISON SYSTEM. ** A JUDICIAL RIDE OF ONES LIFE !
lawyersforpooramericans@yahoo.com
(424-247-2013)
Posted by: LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS | October 08, 2008 at 11:58 PM
*
WHAT IF OUR US CONGRESS COULD REALLY CARE LESS TO OFFER JUSTICE TO POORER AMERICANS ???
SENATOR OBAMA PLEASE LET THIS COUNTRIES VOTERS KNOW YOUR FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS ABOUT A NEEDED FUTURE REPAIR AND RENOVATION OF OUR BROKEN JUDICIAL SYSTEM THAT CONTINUES TO ALLOW THE EXECUTION'S OF EVEN POSSIBLE INNOCENT AMERICAN’S LIKE TROY DAVIS OF GEORGIA ?????
BEING THE WEALTHIEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD SENATOR OBAMA, DON'T WE NEED AS THE LEADERS OF THE FREE WORLD TO BEGIN ONCE AGAIN TO RE-INVEST THE PROPER MONIE$ IN OUR OWN US JUDICIAL SYSTEM, ASSURING ALL OF OUR CITIZENS THEIR RIGHTS TO FAIR TRIALS WITH PROPER LEGAL REPRESENTATION ???
DOES GOD NEED TO LOBBY OUR US CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS OF THE FREE WORLD ON BEHALF OF OUR poorer american’s SENATOR OBAMA,OR ARE YOU WATCHING OUT FOR THEM ?? ***OUR US CONGRESS CONTINUES TO DENY MIDDLE CLASS AND WORKING POOR AMERICANS PROPER LEGAL REPRESENTATION EVEN THOUGH WRONGFUL EXECUTIONS & FALSE INCARCERATIONS CONTINUE ALL ACROSS AMERICA ???
*** 700 BILLION $$$ AVAILABLE FOR US BAILOUT, & NO $$$ FOR ALL POORER AMERICANS PROPER LEGAL REPRESENTATION ?
SENATOR OBAMA, THIS JUDICIAL INJUSTICE HAS BECOME AN AMERICAN ART FORM, AND NO LONGER CAN BE KEPT HIDDEN OR SECRET FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE EVEN IF CERTAIN (501c3) U$ RELIGIOU$ LEADER$ HAVE BEEN $ILENCED ??
LETS ALL HOPE OUR MEDIA FRIENDS CONTINUE TO SHOW AN INTEREST IN REPORTING ON THIS AMERICAN HORROR FACING THESE (TENS OF THOUSANDS) FORGOTTEN AND TRAPPED POORER AMERICANS, AND HOW THIS PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDER HANDLES THIS VERY SERIOUS ISSUE FACING AMERICA’S LATINO AND BLACK AMERICAN COMMUNITIES ????
WITH 80% OF THE BLACK AMERICAN VOTERS SAYING THEY SUPPORT SENATOR OBAMA IN THIS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, IT IS ONLY FAIR FOR EVERYONE TO KNOW PRIOR BEING ELECTED OUR NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES HOW THIS DEMOCRATIC SENATOR TRULY FEELS ABOUT THIS AMERICAN JUDICIAL INJUSTICE CONTINUING TO INFLICT GRAVE HARM ON THE BLACK & LATINO AMERICAN FAMILIES AND THEIR COMMUNITIES NATIONWIDE ??????
*** WHEN GOD’S FACE BECAME VERY RED *** THE US SUPREME COURT GAVE ENEMY COMBATANTS FEDERAL APPEAL HC RIGHTS LAWYERS AND PROPER ACCESS TO US FEDERAL COURTS,AND POORER AMERICANS (MANY EVEN ON DEATH ROW) ARE DENIED PROPER FEDERAL APPEAL LEGAL REPRESENTATION TO OUR US FEDERAL COURTS OF APPEAL, AND ROTTING IN AMERICAN PRISONS NATIONWIDE ?????????
**** INNOCENT AMERICANS ARE DENIED REAL HC RIGHTS WITH THEIR FEDERAL APPEALS ! THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE $LOWLY FINDING OUT HOW EA$Y IT I$ FOR MIDDLE CLA$$ AND WORKING POOR AMERICAN$ TO FALL VICTIM TO OUR U$ MONETARY JUDICIAL $Y$TEM.
****WHEN THE US INNOCENT WERE ABANDONED BY THE GUILTY **** The prison experts have reported that there are 100,000 innocent Americans currently being falsely imprisoned along with the 2,300,000 total US prison population nationwide.
***WHERE ARE AMERICA'S RELIGIOUS LEADERS ???????
Since our US Congress has never afforded poor prison inmates federal appeal legal counsel for their federal retrials,they have effectively closed the doors on these tens of thousands of innocent citizens ever being capable of possibly exonerating themselves to regain their freedom through being granted new retrials.
This same exact unjust situation was happening in our Southern States when poor and mostly uneducated Black Americans were being falsely imprisoned for endless decades without the needed educational skills to properly submit their own written federal trial appeals.
This devious and deceptive judicial process of making our poor and innocent prison inmates formulate and write their own federal appeal legal cases for possible retrials on their state criminal cases,is still in effect today even though everyone in our US judicial system knows that without proper legal representation, these tens of thousands of innocent prison inmates will be denied their rightful opportunities of ever being granted new trials from our federal appeal judges!!
Sadly, the true US *legal* Federal Appeal situation that occurs when any of our uneducated American prison inmates are forced to attempt to submit their own written Federal Appeals (from our prisons nationwide) without the assistance of proper legal counsel, is that they all are in reality being denied their legitimate rights for Habeas Corpus with our US FEDERAL COURTS and will win any future Supreme Court Case concerning this injustice!
For our judicial system and our US Congressional Leaders Of The Free World to continue to pretend that this is a real and fair opportunity for our American Middle Class and Working Poor Citizens, only delays the very needed future change of Federal Financing of all these Federal appeals becoming a normal formula of Our American judicial system.
It was not so very long ago that Public Defenders became a Reality in this country.Prior that legal reality taking place, their were also some who thought giving anyone charged with a crime a free lawyer was a waste of taxpayers $$.
This FACADE and HORROR of our Federal Appeal proce$$ is not worthy of the Greatest Country In The World! ***GREAT SOCIETIES THAT DO NOT PROTECT EVEN THEIR INNOCENT, BECOME THE GUILTY !
A MUST READ ABOUT AMERICAN INJUSTICE:
1) YAHOO 2) GOOGLE
MANNY GONZALES THE KID THAT EVERYONE FORGOT IN THE CA PRISON SYSTEM. ** A JUDICIAL RIDE OF ONES LIFE !
***Someone please tell our US Congress that the GED degree that Manny Gonzales acquired in prison is not a LAW DEGREE !!!!!!
lawyersforpooramericans@yahoo.com (424-247-2013)
Posted by: LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS | October 21, 2008 at 09:52 PM
TROY DAVIS, PLEASE REMEMBER THAT AMERICA IS NOT THE OLD SOUTH ~ AFRICA !!
A $TATE ECONOMIC BOYCOTT OF GEORGIA INTERNATIONALLY WILL OBVIOU$LY BE THE END RE$ULT OF GEORGIA DECIDING TO MURDER A PO$$IBLE INNOCENT TROY DAVI$ WITHOUT A NEW AND FAIR TRIAL ?
US CONGRESSIONAL MEMBERS WHO ARE ALSO LAWYERS BY TRADE, CONTINUE TO DENY poorer AMERICAN'S PROPER LEGAL REPRESENTATION !!!
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY NEEDS TO BEGIN A FORMAL INVESTIGATION INTO THESE US CONGRESSIONAL CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BEING INFLICTED ON poorer AMERICAN'S LIKE MR.TROY DAVIS OF GEORGIA !!!
HAVING BEEN DENIED APPEAL LAWYERS FOR THREE YEARS ON DEATH ROW IN GEORGIA MR. TROY DAVIS IS NOW BEING EXECUTED FOR A CRIME HE MIGHT NOT HAVE EVEN BEEN INVOLVED WITH !!!
SENATOR OBAMA PLEASE LET THIS COUNTRIES VOTERS KNOW YOUR FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS ABOUT A NEEDED FUTURE REPAIR AND RENOVATION OF OUR BROKEN JUDICIAL SYSTEM THAT CONTINUES TO ALLOW THE EXECUTION'S OF EVEN POSSIBLE INNOCENT AMERICAN’S LIKE TROY DAVIS OF GEORGIA ?????
BEING THE WEALTHIEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD SENATOR OBAMA, DON'T WE NEED AS THE LEADERS OF THE FREE WORLD TO BEGIN ONCE AGAIN TO RE-INVEST THE PROPER MONIE$ IN OUR OWN US JUDICIAL SYSTEM, ASSURING ALL OF OUR CITIZENS THEIR RIGHTS TO FAIR TRIALS WITH PROPER LEGAL REPRESENTATION ???
DOES GOD NEED TO LOBBY OUR US CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS OF THE FREE WORLD ON BEHALF OF OUR poorer american’s SENATOR OBAMA,OR ARE YOU WATCHING OUT FOR THEM ??
***OUR US CONGRESS CONTINUES TO DENY MIDDLE CLASS AND WORKING POOR AMERICANS PROPER LEGAL REPRESENTATION EVEN THOUGH WRONGFUL EXECUTIONS & FALSE INCARCERATIONS CONTINUE ALL ACROSS AMERICA ???
*** 700 BILLION $$$ AVAILABLE FOR US BAILOUT, & NO $$$ FOR ALL POORER AMERICANS PROPER LEGAL REPRESENTATION ? SENATOR OBAMA, THIS JUDICIAL INJUSTICE HAS BECOME AN AMERICAN ART FORM, AND NO LONGER CAN BE KEPT HIDDEN OR SECRET FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE EVEN IF CERTAIN (501c3) U$ RELIGIOU$ LEADER$ HAVE BEEN $ILENCED ??
LETS ALL HOPE OUR MEDIA FRIENDS CONTINUE TO SHOW AN INTEREST IN REPORTING ON THIS AMERICAN HORROR FACING THESE (TENS OF THOUSANDS) FORGOTTEN AND TRAPPED POORER AMERICANS, AND HOW THIS PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDER HANDLES THIS VERY SERIOUS ISSUE FACING AMERICA’S LATINO AND BLACK AMERICAN COMMUNITIES ????
WITH 80% OF THE BLACK AMERICAN VOTERS SAYING THEY SUPPORT SENATOR OBAMA IN THIS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, IT IS ONLY FAIR FOR EVERYONE TO KNOW PRIOR BEING ELECTED OUR NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES HOW THIS DEMOCRATIC SENATOR TRULY FEELS ABOUT THIS AMERICAN JUDICIAL INJUSTICE CONTINUING TO INFLICT GRAVE HARM ON THE BLACK & LATINO AMERICAN FAMILIES AND THEIR COMMUNITIES NATIONWIDE ??????
*** WHEN GOD’S FACE BECAME VERY RED *** THE US SUPREME COURT GAVE ENEMY COMBATANTS FEDERAL APPEAL HC RIGHTS LAWYERS AND PROPER ACCESS TO US FEDERAL COURTS,AND POORER AMERICANS (MANY EVEN ON DEATH ROW) ARE DENIED PROPER FEDERAL APPEAL LEGAL REPRESENTATION TO OUR US FEDERAL COURTS OF APPEAL, AND ROTTING IN AMERICAN PRISONS NATIONWIDE ?????????
**** INNOCENT AMERICANS ARE DENIED REAL HC RIGHTS WITH THEIR FEDERAL APPEALS ! THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE $LOWLY FINDING OUT HOW EA$Y IT I$ FOR MIDDLE CLA$$ AND WORKING POOR AMERICAN$ TO FALL VICTIM TO OUR U$ MONETARY JUDICIAL $Y$TEM.
****WHEN THE US INNOCENT WERE ABANDONED BY THE GUILTY **** The prison experts have reported that there are 100,000 innocent Americans currently being falsely imprisoned along with the 2,300,000 total US prison population nationwide.
***WHERE ARE AMERICA'S RELIGIOUS LEADERS ??????? Since our US Congress has never afforded poor prison inmates federal appeal legal counsel for their federal retrials,they have effectively closed the doors on these tens of thousands of innocent citizens ever being capable of possibly exonerating themselves to regain their freedom through being granted new retrials.
This same exact unjust situation was happening in our Southern States when poor and mostly uneducated Black Americans were being falsely imprisoned for endless decades without the needed educational skills to properly submit their own written federal trial appeals.
This devious and deceptive judicial process of making our poor and innocent prison inmates formulate and write their own federal appeal legal cases for possible retrials on their state criminal cases,is still in effect today even though everyone in our US judicial system knows that without proper legal representation, these tens of thousands of innocent prison inmates will be denied their rightful opportunities of ever being granted new trials from our federal appeal judges!!
Sadly, the true US *legal* Federal Appeal situation that occurs when any of our uneducated American prison inmates are forced to attempt to submit their own written Federal Appeals (from our prisons nationwide) without the assistance of proper legal counsel, is that they all are in reality being denied their legitimate rights for Habeas Corpus with our US FEDERAL COURTS and will win any future Supreme Court Case concerning this injustice!
For our judicial system and our US Congressional Leaders Of The Free World to continue to pretend that this is a real and fair opportunity for our American Middle Class and Working Poor Citizens, only delays the very needed future change of Federal Financing of all these Federal appeals becoming a normal formula of Our American judicial system.
It was not so very long ago that Public Defenders became a Reality in this country.Prior that legal reality taking place, their were also some who thought giving anyone charged with a crime a free lawyer was a waste of taxpayers $$.
This FACADE and HORROR of our Federal Appeal proce$$ is not worthy of the Greatest Country In The World! ***GREAT SOCIETIES THAT DO NOT PROTECT EVEN THEIR INNOCENT, BECOME THE GUILTY !
A MUST READ ABOUT AMERICAN INJUSTICE:
1) YAHOO 2) GOOGLE
(MANNY GONZALES THE KID THAT EVERYONE FORGOT IN THE CA PRISON SYSTEM.)
** A JUDICIAL RIDE OF ONES LIFE !
***Someone please tell our US Congress that the GED degree that Manny Gonzales acquired in prison is not a LAW DEGREE !!!!!!
lawyersforpooramericans@yahoo.com (424-247-2013)
Posted by: LAWYERS FOR POOR AMERICANS | October 28, 2008 at 02:17 AM
*** THIS IS ONLY THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG OF OUR UNDERFUNDED JUDICIAL SYSTEM THAT NEEDS...C*H*A*N*G*E.......
**** GOD'S HAND IS INVOLVED IN THIS ONE ****
WHEN THIS HORROR IS PROVEN TO BE A TRUE EVENT AFFECTING THE POSSIBLE ENSLAVEMENT OF 2,500 POORER AMERICAN'S, THEN ALL OF AMERICA WILL BE AWARE THAT THIS SAME EXACT TREATMENT OF OUR POORER CITIZENS NEEDS A FORMAL US CONGRESSIONAL AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATION NATIONWIDE !!!
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Posted on October 31, 2008 by Gideon
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I’m a little late on writing about this story (via several sources), but it sure is a doozy.
You know how it’s common knowlege that most appeals aren’t successful? Well, if you were a pro-se petitioner in Louisiana for the last 13 years, you knew that you wouldn’t win. Why is that? Because the Chief Judge of their Court of Appeals directed his clerk to summarily deny all appeals from pro-se petitioners without circulating the appeal to other judges.
The clerk, ridden with guilt, committed suicide earlier this year and left a note confessing everything.
This immoral and apparently illegal policy was in place until Jerrold Peterson, the staffer charged with implementing it, blew his brains out in May of last year. Peterson was driven to it in part, his suicide note suggested, by guilt over the nefarious tasks the judges made him perform.
In his note Peterson explained how the court gave indigent appellants the bum’s rush.
Although every criminal writ application is supposed to be reviewed by three judges, he was deputed to winnow out any that had been filed pro se and arrange for their automatic rejection.
Thus were an estimated 2,500 appeals deep-sixed without any judicial consideration whatsoever.
Now, facing public embarassment and possible ethical violations, the Louisiana Supreme Court has stepped in and asked…get this…the same appellate court to look at the appeals again. Note that they did not ask the Court to conduct an investigation into this practice, but simply to consider those appeals that were so summarily denied.
Because, if we placate the defendants with another cursory look at their appeals, we can sweep the ethical violations under the carpet.
At first this whole thing seemed rather odd to me. After all, how is this even possible? Here’s how:
Edward Dufresne, Chief Judge of the Fifth Circuit, took charge of pro se appeals in 1994. He then had Peterson prepare rulings denying writs for all of them and signed off “without so much as a glance,” according to the suicide note. “No judge ever saw the writ application before the ruling was prepared by me,” Peterson wrote in a second suicide note to the Judiciary Commission.
The rulings also bore the names, though not the signatures, of judges Marion Edwards and Wally Rothschild. Neither Edwards nor Rothschild had any clue as to what was in the applications, or even knew that they had been filed, according to Peterson.
So you’ve got one complicit judge and maybe three. But there are 5 more on that court. What of them? Are we to really believe that these 5 (or 7) other judges never once questioned the stark absence of pro-se appeals? Particularly in Louisiana, whose system has the following characteristics:
* About 90 percent of criminal defendants in Louisiana are indigent.
* Louisiana only provides post-conviction legal aid in death penalty cases. Everyone else must either hire a lawyer, find a lawyer to handle their case pro bono, or handle the appeal themselves. Obviously, most have no choice but to opt for the latter.
* One criminal defense lawyer in Louisiana told me that if you’re convicted of murder in Louisiana and you’re innocent, you’re actually better off getting the death penalty. At least then you’ll get a team of lawyers, investigators, and experts to help with your appeal.
This from a state whose criminal justice system was already crumbling. It’s hard to believe that people such as Judge Dufresne take an oath to uphold the law and to prove equal protection under it. Disbarment may be enough, but only barely.
Justice delayed is no justice at all.
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THE SMOKING GUN LINK TO AMERICA'S JUDICIAL INJUSTICES BEING INFLICTED ON POORER AMERICAN'S !
*********************************************************** http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1223616107256210.xml&coll=1
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lawyersforpooramericans@yahoo.com(424-247-2013)
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