The Nation without State

So today I'm going to leave aside my usual theme about this blog because I want all of you to now a little more about my country. I wrote this article last Thursday, January 10th, hope you like it.

La Nación sin Estado

Una nación está definida como el conjunto de un Estado, leyes, territorio y población, donde ésta última, además, comparte una misma cultura. Cabe destacar que Estado es un grupo de instituciones que poseen autoridad sobre un territorio. Entonces, ¿cómo puede existir una Nación sin un Estado? Pues aparentemente es posible. Si, y solo si, dichas instituciones que conforman al Estado cantan al unísono, haciendo su canto más significativo que las propias leyes de dicha Nación. 

Según el artículo 230 de la Constitución de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela, “el período presidencial es de seis años …” El artículo 231 de la misma decreta que “El candidato elegido o candidata elegida tomará posesión del cargo de Presidente o Presidenta de la República el diez de enero del primer año de su período constitucional, mediante juramento ante la Asamblea Nacional. Si por cualquier motivo sobrevenido el Presidente o Presidenta de la República no pudiese tomar posesión ante la Asamblea Nacional, lo hará ante el Tribunal Supremo de Justicia.” Y según el artículo 233 de la CRBV que establece que “Serán faltas absolutas del Presidente … de la República: su muerte, su renuncia, (…); su incapacidad física o mental permanente certificada por una junta médica designada por el Tribunal Supremo de Justicia y con aprobación de la Asamblea Nacional; el abandono del cargo, declarado como tal por la Asamblea Nacional, (…). Cuando se produzca la falta absoluta del Presidente electo o Presidenta electa antes de tomar posesión, se procederá a una nueva elección universal, directa y secreta dentro de los treinta días consecutivos siguientes. (…) Si la falta absoluta del Presidente o la Presidenta de la República se produce durante los primeros cuatro años del período constitucional, se procederá a una nueva elección universal, directa y secreta dentro de los treinta días consecutivos siguientes. (…)”

Todo esto es cierto y fue aprobado en el Referéndum Constitucional de 1999; pero a pesar de ello, hoy se concretó el incumplimiento de estos artículos constitucionales cuando el electo presidente el pasado 7 de octubre no apareció ante la Asamblea Nacional, ni ante el Tribunal Supremo de Justicia, para hacer el juramento que lo consolida como Presidente de la República.

El Gobierno – y cuando digo Gobierno me refiero al del pasado período constitucional, cosa que explicaré más adelante – justificó su ausencia argumentando que el candidato reelecto a la Presidencia no podrá hacer el juramento previamente mencionado y que simplemente lo hará luego cuando esté en condiciones para hacerlo.

Si revisamos dichos artículos, observamos un hecho que está explícito. El trámite entre dos períodos presidenciales se hace el 10 de enero cada seis años, a menos que exista una falta absoluta de parte del candidato electo al nuevo período presidencial. Si bien es cierto que en este momento no existe ninguna de las condiciones antes mencionadas que indudablemente conducen a falta absoluta, ¿es posible posponer la fecha del juramento? Si la constitución no dice si es posible o no, uno no puede suponer que lo es. 

Además, la misma constitución establece que “Serán faltas absolutas del Presidente …; su incapacidad física o mental permanente certificada por una junta médica designada por el Tribunal Supremo de Justicia y con aprobación de la Asamblea Nacional (…)Cuando se produzca la falta absoluta del Presidente electo o Presidenta electa antes de tomar posesión, se procederá a una nueva elección universal, directa y secreta dentro de los treinta días consecutivos siguientes.” Esto demuestra que, constitucionalmente, en el período entre las elecciones y la toma de posesión es posible que el Presidente electo sea certificado como “incapaz físicamente”. ¿Entonces por qué la Asamblea Nacional no aprobó al Tribunal Supremo de Justicia para enviar una junta médica que certificara si existe una falta absoluta por parte del candidato electo, que además ha estado fuera del país por un mes debido a su condición física?

Constitucionalmente, el período presidencial 2007 – 2013 concluyó hoy 10 de enero. Venezuela en estos momentos no posee un Presidente que elija al Vicepresidente y a los Ministros. Esa es la razón por la que Venezuela es una Nación sin un Estado a partir del día de hoy; simplemente porque el Gobierno, hace unos días, decidió mágicamente agregarle palabras a la Carta Magna Venezolana, auto extendiendo su período de gobierno hasta el día en que se pueda hacer el juramento que comience el nuevo período presidencial, si es que alguna vez llega ese día.

Fernando J Yanez
10/Ene/13

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The Nation without a State

A Nation is defined as a whole between a State, laws, territory and population; where the later share the same culture. Notice that a State is a group of institutions that have the authority in a territory. Therefore, how a Nation without a State can exist? Well, apparently it is possible; if and only if, those institutions that conforms the State sing in unison, making their sound more significant than the laws of the Nation.

According to the article 230 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, "the presidential term is six years ..." The article 231 of the same decree that "The candidate elected will take office as President of the Republic January 10 the first year of his constitutional term by taking an oath before the National Assembly. If for any reason the President of the Republic could not take possession before the National Assembly, he will do so before the Supreme Court of Justice."And according to Article 233 of the CBRV which states that "the President shall misconduct by ... his death, resignation, (...), his permanent physical or mental disability certified by a medical board appointed by the Supreme Court and National Assembly’s approval, the abandonment of office, declared by the National Assembly (...). When there is the absence of the President-elect before taking office, shall be a new universal, direct and secret election within thirty consecutive days. (...) If the absence of the President of the Republic occurs during the first four years of the constitutional period, there shall be a new universal, direct and secret election within thirty consecutive days. (...) "

All this is true and was approved in the 1999 Constitutional Referendum, but despite this, today finalized the constitutional violation of these items when the elected president, last October 7, did not appear before the National Assembly, nor the Supreme Court of Justice, to take the oath that consolidates him as President.

The government - and when I say government I mean the one of the last constitutional period, which will explain later - justified his absence by saying that the candidate re-elected to the presidency cannot take the oath mentioned previously and he just will do it when he is able to. 

If we look at those articles, we note a fact that is explicit. The process between two presidential is January 10 every six years unless there is a complete lack of the candidate elected to new term. While it is true that at this time there are none of the above conditions will undoubtedly lead to absolute failure, is it possible to postpone the date of the oath? If the constitution does not say whether it is possible or not, one cannot assume that it is.

Beside, the Constitution establish that "the President shall misconduct by ...; their permanent physical or mental disability certified by a medical board appointed by the Supreme Court and with the approval of the National Assembly (...) When there is an absolute lack of President before taking office, shall be a new universal, direct and secret election within thirty consecutive days. "This shows that, constitutionally, in the period between the election and the beginning of the new presidential period, the elected President may be certified as "physically incapable". So why the National Assembly did not approve the Supreme Court to submit a medical board to certify whether there is an absolute lack by the elected candidate, who has also been out of the country for a month due to his physical condition?

Constitutionally, the presidential period 2007 - 2013 concluded today January 10th. Venezuela currently does not have a President to choose the Vice-President and Ministers. That is the reason why, from today, Venezuela is a Nation without a State; simply because the Government, a few days ago, decided to magically add words to the Venezuelan Constitution, auto extending his term until the day he can do the oath that begins the new presidential term, if that day ever comes.

Fernando J Yanez
Jan/10/13

Today is the day

New day; new month; but more important, New Year. New opportunities to start over. To do what you really want to do. This year begins and all of us have a new beginning with it as well. You have the chance to set up new goals you know would be better for yourself.

What better encouragement that to start 365-days-long goals? If you think about it is perfect. It is a specific amount of time to accomplish them. It’s not like when we say “I’m going to start a diet” but that day never comes; and neither like when we say “I want to be rich”, that even if we start making things and decisions right away to accomplish it, we never truly have a “deadline” for it, so we don’t work as hard as we could for it. But a new year means that you have that deadline; by December 31 you have to have accomplished your goals, because just like that, from one minute to the other, the year has passed and it will never come back again.

Maybe is time to decide to read more books to find yourself immersed in new worlds week after week; or to run a mile a day just to stay fit and with good health. Maybe you even would like to discover new horizons. Traveling all around the world, since the Caribbean beaches to the Swiss Alps. Right now is the time, so I invite you to not to waste it. Make good spontaneous decisions, maybe those are the ones which will take you to accomplish your goals.

“Today is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.”

Unknown

Don't encourage blindness

I would like to know why people, almost 3.8 thousand years later, still practice the Hammurabi’s code, which establishes “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. Haven’t they figured out that no society will ever improve under this rule?
            I guess they don’t know yet that they don’t gain anything by doing it. If they were smart enough, they would realize that it is better for them, as individuals, not to take revenge. Could you imagine what would happen to the world if the entire population – about 7 billion people – takes revenge every time something happens to them? It would create a cycle that would end with even wars and death.
            If the world’s population somehow forgets about this absurd rule, the world would be a better place. Eventually, no one would harm others and half the problems of the world would be eradicated.

"An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind."

Mahatma Gandhi

Make mistakes

The reason why I chose this week’s quote is because I think everyone goes through it in some point of their lives. Often, people feel bad or even sad when they make a mistake. Some of them cry, others try to separate from the world, and even there are those who quit trying. Most of them don’t realize that making mistakes is a human been characteristic. In fact, it is a very particular one for us because no one is perfect – even if some people think they are. 

By now you must be wondering yourself “how do I react when I make a mistake?” So I ask you, do you run and hide? Or do you face it? How would our lives be if Thomas Edison would have given up instead of trying six thousand times before making perfect the light bulb? Why to hide behind a window watching the landscape if we can be outside being part of it? 

I wish most of the people would face the consequences for their mistakes and learn from it. Because when you learn from it, you are not giving up, you keep going and growing.

“Anyone who has never made a mistake, has never tried something new.”

Albert Einstein

Be a great mind, not a small one

If there is one thing I have always wondered about is why some people spend most of their lives talking, and discussing about others. If you are one of those, have you ever asked yourself why do you waste your time talking about others? Have you ever asked yourself how much time have you spent on your entire life, not discussing with other people, but about other people? I can assure you, the answer would be many, many days.

There are tons of other things more interesting and more important to talk about that actually can make a difference; perhaps even fells you more talking about the black silhouette of the trees with the sun behind them on the horizon. What difference does it make to you the fact of talking about your peers? Nobody gain nothing when they talk about others; in fact, it is a waste of their time that they could spend doing amazing things that really can affect positively to more than themselves.

So I invite you that the next time you start talking about others, ask yourself first if it is something that really worth spending your time on. For me, the answer is always no. I rather talk–and think–about things, events, or even better, ideas. When you start talking about ideas instead of people, your life suddenly become more fulfilling and enjoyable. You will start looking at things differently that you were used to because you see them from a perspective where you don’t try to figure it out how it may affect others, and you focus on how does it affect you.

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

Let yourself be amazed

So today I’m starting my new blog. I really hope you like it; and if you are asking yourself – or to the person next to you, if there is any – what is this blog about, let me tell you right now. The main theme I pretend to guide this blog about is amazing thoughts. I’ll quote phrases of many people that, somehow, make a difference to me; so I’ll to talk to you about them and hope they can make a difference for you too.

When I started to think about what I should make my blog about, this was my first thought. The reason is because since almost two years ago I started a collection of quotes. Every day that I heard a new phrase that made me feel some tickles in my stomach and I knew that somehow it would help me, I just wrote them down. Finally I got the chance to share them.

If you wonder why I like these famous thoughts so much is because I let myself be amazed by little things in life; I’m going to explain you where did this come from. People, as they get older, start to take things for granted. For some reason, as we grow up, we lose our innocence. We start to judge things, instead of living them. A long time ago, I opened my eyes. I realized that I was becoming one more of those people; I wasn't living my life in awe of the amazingness of things. I made a change. I regained my innocence about everything that happens in my life because, why not? We only know a few things compared with what is out there; so, why not to be amazed about everything? About everything that happens to us? Almost everything that happens to us is different at least in some way. Every sunset is different. Every kiss we give, every hug we receive, every tree we see, every book we read, and every step we take leads us to something different each time. So I ask you this time, let yourself wonder by the things you don’t know and by everything that is different for you, and I assure you, you will be amazed.

“What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean.”

Isaac Newton

Awesome surprise!

Last friday, my best friend - which I think of her as a sister - turn 18 years old. Here is my surprise gift to her on that special day being thousand of miles apart.