10:09 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Activism| Latin America| Politics| Venezuela · Comments Off
9 Jul 2009Yesterday we told you about how Caracas’ mayor, Antonio Ledezma, was holding out on the 6th day of a hunger strike in protest of the government of Hugo Chávez. Later in the day, Ledezma — very frail after having not eaten or drank anything in nearly a week — agreed to end his protest after the Secretary General of the Organization of American States said he would be willing to hear the allegations being made against Chávez.
Video showed crowds of people surrounding the mayor, who had a Venezuelan flag draped on his chest, as he was moved on a stretcher to an ambulance.The secretary general of the OAS, Jose Miguel Insulza, called the mayor on Wednesday urging him to end the hunger strike, the Globovision network reported.
In an earlier conversation, Insulza told Ledezma he was willing to meet with a delegation of Venezuelan mayors and governors to hear their allegations against Chavez
I hate to be skeptical, but I don’t really believe much is going to come out of the OAS Secretary listening to complaints. Like it or not, Chávez has set it up so where he will stay in power no matter what neighbors and allies might think. Habrá Chávez para rato.
Via / CNN
9:42 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Activism| Justice| Latin America| Politics| Venezuela · 1 Comment
8 Jul 2009Here’s something that doesn’t happen every day: the Mayor of Caracas is on hunger strike, in an attempt to convince the Organization of American States to investigate corruption and “power grabbing” allegations lodged against the government of President Hugo Chávez. Mayor Antonio Ledezma is locked inside the OAS offices and is refusing to eat until his demands are met.
The secretary general of the OAS, Jose Miguel Insulza, responded to the mayor in a phone conversation Tuesday, Ledezma adviser Milos Alcalay said in a news conference. Insulza agreed to meet with a group of mayors and governors of Venezuela who have made similar allegations against the Chavez government, Alcalay said.“Respectfully, but categorically, [Ledezma] described a series of instances … of increasing harassment in a systematic manner by the central power against the metropolitan mayor,” Alcalay said.
The video above shows that along with Antonio Ledezma, others are also striking outside of the OAS offices. His wife, the first lady of Caracas, also describes the motivation behind the Mayor’s decision: according to her, the Chávez government has made it virtually impossible for him to work.
Via / CNN
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