Reply #116: The Chavez government proposed equal rights for women and gays, as an amendment

[Peace Patriot]

to the Constitution last year. (People get to vote on their Constitution in Venezuela.) It was defeated by a hairsbreadth, in a package of amendments that were opposed by the rightwing Catholic clergy, mainly because of the inclusion of equal rights, amidst lying ads that claimed the Chavistas will take children from their mothers. The Chavez government strongly supports equal rights for women and gays. They lost all kinds of other amendments (more than 60) because of their inclusion of this one. The right to a free university education. The right to a pension for the informal sector (street vendors, etc.) A shortened work week. And the other big issue--lifting the term limit on the president (so Chavez could run for office again--like our own FDR did four times!). (The voters later lifted term limits on all offices--including governorships, where the rightwing does better in elections--as a single issue referendum.)

Please research and think things through before you jump in, saying something as wrong and unfactual as this. It is not Chavez who is against gays. It is our own voting machine corporations--for instance, ES&S (brethen to Diebold), whose initial funder and major investor is rightwing billionaire Howard Ahmanson, who also gave one million dollars to the extremist 'christian' Chalcedon foundation, which touts the death penalty for homosexuals!

Look here for such bigotry, in our own corpo/fascist establishment. The Chavez government is not guilty of it, and in fact is a pioneer among Latin American countries on this issue.