Venezuela releases judge Afiuni from house arrest

[happyslug]

21. He left the opposition control over the media, he accepted the defeat by the voters

Chavez accepted defeat by the voters of his last proposed changes in the Venezuelan Constitution, he left go all of the people involved in the coup against him. he was NOT known to keep political prisoners (The person this thread started with is about the only one reported). Now Amnesty International reports he has 40 political prisoners, but others have reported the US has over 100.

Remember, it is rare of Political Prisoners to go to jail as Political Prisoners, they are charged with some crime, generally a common crime, such as taking bribes, parking in a no parking zone, making a speech that is claimed to be inciting a riot, rioting, arson, and even murder (Or any other crime that the authorities can make). The difference is comparing how the charge was made AND the Sentence imposed. More often then not, one sides "Political Prisoners" is the other side's traitors.

http://www3.law.harvard.edu/journals/hjrej-articles/archive/vol18/soffiyah.pdf

Comment on what is a Political Prisoners (including a comment that Florida wanted to make receiving two welfare check a month a felony and thus such people would not be able to vote, and the reason for this was Political, most people on welfare vote Democratic).

http://www.pjvoice.com/v52/52005news.aspx

Some prisoners remain prisoners for they refuse to admit they committed a crime, and as such denied parole"
http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/article_8782.shtml

Most Political Prisoners are prisoners for actual crimes, crimes which are rarely charged against others OR if charge rarely ends up in a Jail Sentence:
http://sfbayview.com/2012/u-s-prisons-packed-with-political-prisoners/

Has Chavez been accused of the above? Yes, but so has the US as you can see by the above examples. Venezuela is a very violent country, with a high murder rate but no one blames Chavez for that, for Venezuela had a high murder rate BEFORE Chavez took over. His crackdown in the press and the courts are less then the US did in the late 1940s and into the 1950s during the height of the Red Scare (and no one calls that period a period of American Dictatorship). People can protest, people get elected NOT of Chavez's party. People have left Chavez's party. All of these would NOT occur in most dictatorships.

Thus my point, while Chavez was a strong president, I have seen NO evidence of a tendency to a Dictatorship. People who oppose what he wanted done would view him as the enemy, but that does not make him a dictator. You need more then opposition to his policies, and losing those political fights before you call anyone a dictator. So far all I have seen is the opposition to what he wanted to do in Venezuela, and people mad at losing those political fights. That is politics in any democracy and thus NOT evidence of a Dictatorship.