Thursday, December 3, 2009

OAS - IACHR: Gasoline (petrol) subsidies should be defined as an Economic Crime Against Humanity

In Venezuela, no matter that huge accumulated inflation over 12 years, the price of gasoline is not increased, and sold today at about 2 cents per liter 8 cents per gallon, something like a hundredth of its price other countries. In addition, the consumers can buy vehicles at prices benefiting from dollars at a preferential exchange rate.
On could estimate that these public policies one can estimates have involuntarily transferred 10% of the GDP of the country from those who have no vehicles to those who do. In other words, it is an institutionalized theft that threatens any equitable distribution of national income and equal opportunities. Not to mention the environmental crime it represents.
Arguing that the above constitutes a violation of human rights, I will try to file a lawsuit against the government of Venezuela at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (CIDH). Q. What has the "equitable distribution of national income and equality of opportunity" to do with human rights. A. A lot!
First, the Charter of the Organization of American States establishes among its principles that "the elimination of extreme poverty ... is the common and shared responsibility of the American States (Art: 3f)., And also to be" devote their utmost efforts ... to achieve equitable distribution of national income; (Art. 34.b).
Then the American Convention on Human Rights (1969) states in Article 26 that "States parties undertake to ... achieving progressively the full realization of the rights implicit in the economic, social, educational, scientific and cultural standards contained in the Charter of the OAS ... to the extent of available resources, by legislation or other appropriate means 
And finally, in the case of "Discharged and Retired Employees of the Comptroller vs. Peru" (2009) it has established case law when in the judgment read that the Commission "has jurisdiction to decide whether the State has incurred in a violation or breach of any of the rights recognized in the Convention, including in regard to article 26 of the same ".
Again, without being a lawyer, I think there are possibilities to obtain a conviction; and the Commission may not even need to visit the country. 
However even in the case that is not achieved, I will have fulfilled the responsibility to report to the world what is amoral "The Asocialismo of the 21st century"; and that should have alerted the opposition to the issue.
Postscript. Thanks for any (free) legal advice for the drafting of the complaint.
Translated, quite lousily I presume, from El Universal

Ps. At this moment 2016 the price of milk in Venezuela is over 300 times the price of gas.