The following is an article-by-article summary of the changes

being proposed to Venezuela's

1999 constitution. The summary is in no way official and should only be used as

an aid in making sense of the proposed constitutional reform. The official

reform text is quite long (31 pages), as it includes the full text of each to

be changed article, even if only one sentence or word was changed in the article.

Making out what, exactly, the changes are relative to the original 1999

constitution can thus be a sometimes time-consuming and difficult task.

Venezuelans will vote on the reform on December 2nd

and will do so in two blocks. Block "A" includes President Chavez's original

proposal, as amended by the National Assembly, which would change 33 articles

out of the 350 articles in the constitution. Also included in block A are

another 13 articles introduced by the National Assembly. Block "B" includes another

26 reform articles proposed by the National Assembly. Voters may vote "Yes" or

"No" on each block.

Reform Question: "Are

you in agreement with the approval of the constitutional reform project, passed

by the National Assembly, with the participation of the people, and based in

the initiative of President Hugo Chavez, with its respective titles, chapters,

and transitional, derogative, and final dispositions, distributed in the

following blocks?"

[Articles in italics

are those proposed by the National Assembly, non-italic articles were proposed

by the President.]

Block A

Section

II. Politico-Territorial Division of the Country: President may declare

special military and development zones, citizens have a new "right to the

city."

Art. 11 - Allows the President

to decree special military regions for the defense of the nation. Also, it would

allow him to name military authorities for these regions in a case of

emergency.

Art. 16 - Allows the president to decree,

with permission from the National Assembly, communal cities, maritime regions,

federal territories, federal municipalities, island districts, federal

provinces, federal cities, and functional districts. Also the president may

name and remove national government authorities for these territorial divisions

(these do not, however, supplant the existing elected authorities in these

regions).

Art. 18 - Provides a new right, the right

to the city, which says that all citizens have the right to equal access to the

city's services or benefits. Also names Caracas,

the capital as the "Cradle of Simon Bolivar, the Liberator, and Queen of the

Warairarepano" [an indigenous name for the mountain range surrounding Caracas].

Section

III. Citizen Rights and Duties: Voting age lowered to 16 years, gender

parity in candidacies, creation of councils of popular power, social security

fund for self-employed, reduction of workweek to 36 hours, recognition of

Venezuelans of African descent, free university education, introduction of

communal and social property.

Art.

64 - Lowers the minimum voting age from 18 to 16 years.

Art. 67 - Requires candidates for elected

office to be set up in accordance with gender parity, reverses the prohibition

against state financing of campaigns and parties, and prohibits foreign funding

of political activity.

Art. 70 - Establishes that councils of

popular power (of communities, workers, students, farmers, fishers, youth,

women, etc.) are one of the main means for citizen participation in the

government.

Art. 87 - Creates a social security fund for

the self-employed, in order to guarantee them a pension, vacation pay, sick

pay, etc.

Art. 90 - Reduction of the workweek from 44

hours to 36.

Art.

98 - Guarantees freedom for cultural creations, but without guaranteeing

intellectual property.

Art. 100 - Recognition of Venezuelans of

African descent, as part of Venezuelan culture to protect and promote (in

addition to indigenous and European culture).

Art.

103 - Right to a free education expanded from high school to university.

Art. 112 - The state will promote a

diversified and independent economic model, in which the interests of the

community prevail over individual interests and that guarantee the social and

material needs of the people. The state is no longer obliged to promote private

enterprise.

Art. 113 - Monopolies are prohibited

instead of merely being "not allowed." The state has the right to "reserve" the

exploitation of natural resources or provision of services that are considered

by the constitution or by a separate law to be strategic to the nation.

Concessions granted to private parties must provide adequate benefits to the

public.

Art. 115 - Introduces new forms of

property, in addition to private property. The new forms are (1) public

property, belonging to state bodies, (2) direct and indirect social property,

belonging to the society in general, where indirect social property is

administered by the state and direct is administered by particular communities,

(3) collective property, which belongs to particular groups, (4) mixed

property, which can be a combination of ownership of any of the previous five

forms.

Section

IV. Functions of the State: Creation of popular power based in direct

democracy, recognition of missions for alleviating urgent needs, foreign policy

to pursue a pluri-polar world, devolution of central, state, and municipal

functions to the popular power, guaranteed revenues for the popular power.

Art. 136 - Creates the popular power, in

addition to the municipal, state, and national powers. "The people are the

depositories of sovereignty and exercise it directly via the popular power.

This is not born of suffrage nor any election, but out of the condition of the

human groups that are organized as the base of the population." The popular

power is organized via communal councils, workers' councils, student councils,

farmer councils, crafts councils, fisher councils, sports councils, youth

councils, elderly councils, women's councils, disables persons' councils, and

others indicated by law.

Art. 141 - The public administration is

organized into traditional bureaucracies and missions, which have an ad-hoc

character and are designed to address urgent needs of the population.

Art.

152 - Venezuela's

foreign policy is directed towards creating a pluri-polar world, free of

hegemonies of any imperialist, colonial, or neo-colonial power.

Art.

153 - Strengthening of the mandate to unify Latin America,

so as to achieve what Simon Bolivar called, "A Nation of Republics."

Art. 156 - Specifies the powers of the

national government, adding powers that are spelled out in earlier and in later

articles in greater detail. New powers of the national government include the

ordering of the territorial regime of states and municipalities, the creation

and suspension of federal territories, the administration of branches of the

national economy and their eventual transfer to social, collective, or mixed

forms of property, and the promotion, organization, and registering of councils

of the popular power.

Art.

157 - The national assembly may attribute to the bodies of the popular power,

in addition to those of the federal district, the states, and the

municipalities, issues that are of national government competency, so as to

promote a participatory and active democracy (instead of promoting

decentralization, as was originally stated here).

Art. 158 - The state will promote the

active participation of the people, restoring power to the population (instead

of decentralizing the state).

Art. 167 - States' incomes are increased

from 20% to 25% of the national budget, where 5% is to be dedicated to the

financing of each state's communal councils.

Art. 168 - Municipalities are obligated to

include in their activities the participation of councils of popular power.

Art. 184 - Decentralization of power, by

its transfer from state and municipal level to the communal level, will include

the participation of communities in the management of public enterprises. Also,

communal councils are defined as the executive arm of direct democratic citizen

assemblies, which elect and at any time may revoke the mandates of the communal

council members.

Art. 185 - The national government council

is no longer presided over by the Vice-President, but by the President. Its

members are the President, Vice-President(s), Ministers, and Governors. Participation

of mayors and of civil society groups is optional now. Previously the federal

governmental council (as it was called) was responsible for coordinating

policies on all governmental levels. Now it is an advisory body for the

formulation of the national development plan.

Section

V. Organization of the State: President may name secondary vice-presidents

as needed, presidential term extended and limit on reelection removed, may

re-organize internal politico-territorial boundaries, and promotes all military

officers.

Art. 225 - The president may designate the

number of secondary vice-presidents he or she deems necessary. Previously there

was only one Vice-President.

Art. 230 - Presidential term is extended

from six to seven years. The two consecutive term limit on presidential

reelection is removed.

Art. 236 - New presidential powers as

specified in other sections of the reform are listed here, which include the

ordering and management of the country's internal political boundaries, the

creation and suspension of federal territories, setting the number and naming

of secondary vice-presidents (in addition to the first vice-president), promote

all officers of the armed forces, and administrate international reserves in

coordination with the Central Bank.

Art. 251 - Adds detail to the functioning

of the State Council, which advises the president on all matters.

Art. 252 - Composition of the State Council

changed to include the heads of each branch of government: executive,

judiciary, legislature, citizen power, and electoral power. The president may

include representatives of the popular power and others as needed. Previously

the council included five representatives designated by the president, one by

the National Assembly, one by the judiciary, and one by the state governors.

Art.

272 - Removal of the requirement for the state to create an autonomous

penitentiary system and places the entire system under the administration of a

ministry instead of states and municipalities. Also, removes the option of

privatizing the country's penitentiary system.

Section

VI. Socio-Economic System: Weakening ofthe role of private enterprise in the economic system, possible better

treatment of national businesses over foreign ones, no privatization any part of

the national oil industry, taxation of idle agricultural land, removal of

central bank autonomy.

Art.

299 - The socio-economic regimen of the country is based on socialist (among

other) principles. Instead of stipulating that the state promotes development

with the help of private initiative, it is to do so with community, social, and

personal initiative.

Art. 300 - Rewording of how publicly owned

enterprises should be created, to be regionalized and in favor of a "socialist

economy", instead of "decentralized."

Art. 301 - Removal of the requirement that

foreign businesses receive the same treatment as national businesses, stating

that national businesses may receive better treatment.

Art. 302 - Strengthening of the state's

right to exploit the country's mineral resources, especially all those related

to oil and gas.

Art.

303 - Removal of the permission to privatize subsidiaries of the country's

state oil industry that operate within the country.

Art. 305 - If necessary, the state may take

over agricultural production in order to guarantee alimentary security and

sovereignty.

Art. 307 - Strengthening of the prohibition

against latifundios (large and idle

landed estates) and creation of a tax on productive agricultural land that is

idle. Landowners who engage in the ecological destruction of their land may be

expropriated.

Art. 318 - Removal of the Central Bank's

autonomy and foreign reserves to be administrated by the Central Bank together

with the President.

Art. 320 - The state must defend the

economic and monetary stability of the country. Removal of statements on the

bank's autonomy.

Art. 321 - Removal of the requirement to

set up a macro-economic stabilization fund. Instead, every year the President

and the Central Bank establish the level of reserves necessary for the national

economy and all "excess reserves" are assigned to a special development and

investment fund.

Section

VII. National Security: Armed forces to be anti-imperialist, reserves to

become a militia.

Art. 328 - Armed forces of Venezuela

renamed to "Bolivarian Armed Force." Specification that the military is

"patriotic, popular, and anti-imperialist" at the service of the Venezuelan

people and never at the service of an oligarchy or of a foreign imperial power,

whose professionals are not activists in any political party (modified from the

prohibition against all political activity by members of the military).

Art. 329 - Addition of the term

"Bolivarian" to each of the branches of the military and renaming of the

reserves to "National Bolivarian Militia."

Section

VIII. Constitutional changes: Signature requirements increased for

citizen-initiated referenda to modify the constitution.

Art.

341 - Increase in the signature requirement for citizen-initiated

constitutional amendments from 15% to 20% of registered voters.

Art.

342 - Increase in the signature requirement for citizen-initiated

constitutional reforms from 15% to 25% of registered voters.

Art.

348 - Increase in the signature requirement for citizen-initiated

constitutional assembly from 15% to 30% of registered voters.

Block

"B"

Section

III. Citizen Rights and Duties: Non-discrimination based on sexual

orientation and health, increase in signature requirements for

citizen-initiated referenda, primary home protected from expropriation.

Art.

21 - Inclusion of prohibition against discrimination based on sexual

orientation and on health.

Art.

71 - Increase in the signature requirement for citizen-initiated consultative

referenda from 10% to 20% of registered voters.

Art.

72 - Increase in the signature requirement for citizen-initiated recall

referenda from 20% to 30% of registered voters. Also, voter participation set

at minimum 40% (previously no minimum was set, other than that at least as many

had to vote for the recall as originally voted for the elected official).

Art.

73 - Increase in the signature requirement for citizen-initiated approbatory

referenda from 15% to 30% of registered voters.

Art.

74 - Increase in the signature requirement for citizen-initiated rescinding

referenda from 10% to 30% of registered voters. In the case of law decrees,

increased from 5% to 30% of registered voters.

Art.

82 - Protection of primary home from confiscation due to bankruptcy or other

legal proceedings.

Art.

109 - Equal voting rights for professors, students, and employees in the

election of university authorities.

Section

IV. Functions of the State: State and local comptrollers appointed by

national Comptroller General, political divisions determined on a national

instead of state level.

Art.

163 - State comptrollers are to be appointed by the national Comptroller

General, not the states, following a process in which organizations of popular

power nominate candidates.

Art.

164 - State powers are specified in accordance with other articles of the

reform. States can no longer organize the politico-territorial division of

municipalities, but only coordinate these.

Art.

173 - Political divisions within municipalities are to be determined by a

national law, instead of being in the power of the municipalities. The creation

of such divisions is to attend to community initiative, with the objective

being the de-concentration of municipal administration.

Art.

176 - The municipal comptroller is to be appointed by the national Comptroller

General, not the municipalities, following the nomination of candidates by the organizations

of popular power.

Section

V. State organization: Councils of popular power participate in the

nomination of members of the judiciary, citizen, and electoral powers, procedures

for removing members of these branches specified more explicitly.

Art.

191 - National Assembly deputies who the president has called to serve in the

executive may return to the National Assembly to finish their term in office

once they stop working in the executive. Previously they lost their seat in the

assembly.

Art.

264 - Specifies that Supreme Court judges are to be named by a majority of the

National Assembly, instead of being left to a law. Also, in addition to civil

society groups related to the law profession, representatives of the popular

power are to participate in the nomination process.

Art.

265 - Supreme Court judges may be removed from office by a simple majority vote

of the National Assembly, instead of a two-thirds majority and an accusation by

the citizen power.

Art.

266 - Adds the ability of the Supreme Court to rule on the merits of court

proceedings against members of the National Electoral Council, in addition to

its ability to do so in the case of all other high-level government officials.

Art.

279 - Includes representatives of popular power councils for the nomination of

Attorney General, Comptroller General, and Human Rights Defender. Also,

specifies that each of these may be removed by a majority of the National

Assembly, instead of leaving the issue to a separate law and a ruling from the

Supreme Court.

Art.

289 - Adds to the Comptroller General's powers the ability to name state and

municipal comptrollers.

Art.

293 - Removes the National Electoral Council's responsibility to preside over

union elections.

Art.

295 - Inclusion of representatives from the Popular Power in the nomination

process of members to the National Electoral Council. Specifies that members

may be chosen by a majority of National Assembly members, instead of a

two-thirds majority. Election of electoral council members is supposed to be

staggered now, where three are elected and then halfway through their 7-year

term, the other two are to be elected.

Art.

296 - Members of the National Electoral Council may be removed by a majority of

National Assembly members, without the need of a prior ruling from the Supreme

Court.

Section

VIII. Constitutional exceptions: Right to information no longer guaranteed

during state of emergency, emergencies to last as long as the conditions that

caused it.

Art. 337

- Change in states of emergency, so that the right to information is no longer

protected in such instances. Also, the right to due process is removed in favor

of the right to defense, to no forced disappearance, to personal integrity, to

be judged by one's natural judges, and not to be condemned to over 30 years

imprisonment.

Art.

338 - States of alert, emergency, and of interior or exterior commotion are no

longer limited to a maximum of 180 days, but are to last as long as conditions

persist that motivated the state of exception.

Art.

339 - The Supreme Court's approval for states of exception is no longer

necessary, only the approval of the National Assembly.

Full

Spanish text of the constitutional reform proposal

English

translation of Venezuela's 1999 constitution