[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 113 (Thursday, August 1, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S6236]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 213--EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE FREE AND PEACEFUL 
   EXERCISE OF REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY IN VENEZUELA AND CONDEMNING 
  VIOLENCE AND INTIMIDATION AGAINST THE COUNTRY'S POLITICAL OPPOSITION

  Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Kaine, Mr. 
Udall of New Mexico, Mr. McCain, and Mr. Kirk) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 213

       Whereas the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela 
     declared Nicolas Maduro to be the winner of Venezuela's April 
     14, 2013, presidential election, after crediting him with 
     receiving 50.6 percent of votes cast;
       Whereas Venezuela's political opposition has highlighted 
     widespread incidents of potential electoral irregularities, 
     voter intimidation, and other abuses perpetrated by the 
     Government of Venezuela in favor of the candidacy of Nicolas 
     Maduro;
       Whereas the Organization of American States and other 
     multilateral institutions called for a full recount and audit 
     that addresses all claims by participants in the electoral 
     process in Venezuela;
       Whereas the Senate of the Republic of Chile, the Christian 
     Democratic Organization of the Americas, the Socialist 
     International, the Union of Latin American parties, and other 
     political organizations in the region have issued 
     declarations recognizing the alleged irregularities 
     documented by the opposition in Venezuela and urged a 
     complete audit of the election results;
       Whereas the CNE has denied the political opposition's 
     request for a full and comprehensive audit of the election 
     results that includes the review and comparison of voter 
     registry log books, vote tallies produced by electronic 
     voting machines, and the paper receipts printed by electronic 
     voting machines;
       Whereas the Preamble of the Charter of the Organization of 
     American States affirms that ``representative democracy is an 
     indispensable condition for the stability, peace and 
     development of the region,'' and Article 1 of the Inter-
     American Democratic Charter recognizes that ``the people of 
     the Americas have a right to democracy and their governments 
     have an obligation to promote and defend it'';
       Whereas the republican form of government prescribed in the 
     Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has its 
     legislative branch in the National Assembly, where the free 
     participation and deliberation of its democratically elected 
     representatives is essential to legislate and check the 
     powers of the executive branch;
       Whereas the President of the National Assembly denied 
     opposition parties the right to speak in the legislature from 
     April 16 to May 21, 2013, and removed them from key 
     committees in response to their refusal to recognize Nicolas 
     Maduro as president;
       Whereas members of the ruling United Socialist Party of 
     Venezuela (PSUV) violently assaulted opposition legislators 
     on April 16 and April 30, 2013, in the National Assembly, 
     causing lacerations, broken bones, and other injuries to 
     members of the political opposition;
       Whereas the Department of State responded to the violence 
     against opposition legislators in Venezuela by declaring that 
     ``violence has no place in a representative and democratic 
     system, and is particularly inappropriate in the National 
     Assembly'';
       Whereas the Secretary General of the Organization of 
     American States (OAS) has repudiated the incident by stating 
     that it ``reflects, in a dramatic manner, the absence of a 
     political dialogue that can bring tranquility to the citizens 
     and to the members of the different public powers to resolve 
     in a peaceful climate and with everybody's participation the 
     pending matters of the country'';
       Whereas the Congress of the Republic of Peru passed a 
     resolution rejecting the use of violence against opposition 
     parties in the Venezuelan National Assembly and expressing 
     solidarity with those injured by the events of April 2013; 
     and
       Whereas, as a member of the Organization of American States 
     and signatory to the Inter-American Democratic Charter, the 
     Bolivarian Government of Venezuela has agreed to abide by the 
     principles of constitutional, representative democracy, which 
     include free and fair elections and adherence to its own 
     constitution: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) supports the people of Venezuela in their pursuit of 
     the free exercise of representative democracy in Venezuela;
       (2) calls for greater dialogue between all political actors 
     in Venezuela and strongly deplores the undemocratic denial of 
     legitimate parliamentary rights to members of opposition 
     parties in the National Assembly and the inexcusable violence 
     perpetrated against opposition legislators inside the 
     legislative chambers of Venezuela;
       (3) commends legislators from other nations in the Americas 
     who have declared their opposition to political 
     irregularities and the use of violence against opposition 
     parliamentarians in Venezuela;
       (4) urges the Organization of American States to issue a 
     detailed report on any and all irregularities resulting from 
     the April 14, 2013, presidential election in Venezuela;
       (5) urges the United States Ambassador to the Organization 
     of American States to work in concert with other member 
     states to use the full power of the organization in support 
     of meaningful steps to ensure full parliamentary democracy 
     and the rule of law in Venezuela in accordance with the 
     Inter-American Democratic Charter, including invoking 
     articles related to unconstitutional interruptions of the 
     democratic order in a member state; and
       (6) urges the United States Ambassador to the Organization 
     of American States to work in concert with other member 
     states to strengthen the ability of the Organization to 
     protect democratic institutions and to respond to the erosion 
     of democracy in member states.

                          ____________________