Caracas Daily Journal (Jeremy Morgan): An army general on active service has talked himself into trouble by asking the Supreme Justice Tribunal (TSJ) to stop the armed forces using the slogan "Patria, Socialism o Muerte. Venceremos!" – Fatherland, Socialism or Death. We shall overcome! And by letting it be known that he'd done so.
Gen. Angel Vivas Perdomo wants the slogan adopted at the behest of President Hugo Chavez to be replaced by a "national" one. He said the slogan was of Cuban origin, "anti-Bolivarian, unconstitutional and anti-democratic."
The opposition claims it's all part of Chavez' attempt to "politicize" the armed forces.
The president argues that "the soldiers are conscious that only by the way of socialism will we have Patria", and he's pointed out the Cuban version doesn't refer to socialism.
On Tuesday, Vivas Perdomo went to the Constitutional Chamber at the TSJ to find out what had happened to a writ he'd filed there on May 15 asking that the slogan be eliminated. The media were there in considerable numbers, and it emerged he'd filed similar requests to the Military High Command and El Comandante himself.
Vivas Perdomo said this was not the first time he'd gone to the TSJ -- although, again, the details of that weren't divulged. He blamed former defense minister Raul Isaias Baduel -- another general, albeit retired, who's in the doghouse -- for introducing the slogan, claiming it had "penetrated without resistance or institutional reaction."
The next thing that happened was that Vivas was "invited" for questioning by the military intelligence directive, DIM. His lawyer, Jose Maria Zaa, reportedly said his client wasn't under arrest, legally speaking, and his "physical integrity" was fine. On Wednesday, Zaa said Vivas Perdomo, who stepped down as army director of military engineering, was let go on condition that he present himself before a military court every 15 days, remain in the capital and abstain from contact with the media.
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