New Venezuelan congress now democratic, reports archbishop

Rome, Italy, Sep 30, 2010 / 20:10 pm

Archbishop Roberto Luckert of Coro said this week that the 65 congressional seats gained by a minority party in last Sunday’s elections means that the Venezuelan Congress is no longer “just one color,” but is now democratic.

Speaking to Vatican Radio, the archbishop said Venezuelans are full of “joy and satisfaction because once again Venezuela has been an example of democratic civility by getting out to vote.”

He praised Venezuelans for the cordial and optimistic atmosphere surrounding the elections. “There were no confrontations, thanks be to God.  The system worked,” he said.

However, the archbishop criticized the long delay in releasing the results at 2 a.m. on Monday morning, despite the “supposedly automated system that should have given us the results in the matter of minutes.”

“In any case,” he continued, “right now the big loser is the president, who tried hard to sell his candidates, and although they won 99 congressional seats, the big loser was Chavez because he was hoping to gain an absolute majority and he didn’t.”

“As of now the Venezuelan Congress is no longer just one color, it is no longer fearful ... It is a truly democratic congress in which laws are going to be studied and worked in to the benefit of all Venezuelans and not just one political party.”