Venezuela politician says backed by rights court

[joshcryer]

http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-politician-says-backed-rights-court-195230229.html">Venezuela politician says backed by rights court
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — An opposition politician said Friday that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has sided with him by ordering Venezuela to lift a decision barring him from running for the presidency.

Leopoldo Lopez announced the decision on his Twitter account, saying "justice was done." His allies celebrated the decision at a news conference, one of them holding up a copy of the ruling.

If Lopez is able to run for president, his candidacy could be a significant shift as opposition contenders look to begin campaigning for a primary vote in February designed to pick a unity candidate to challenge President Hugo Chavez. The presidential election is scheduled for Oct. 7, 2012.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said authorities would study the court's decision before responding.

The Venezuelan elections are getting more and more interesting! Capriles is virtually tied with Chavez in polls (this far out is no real indicator, but it's pretty surprising, if Chavez's health doesn't allow him to campaign it'll be for sure a battle). Having a Capriles / Leopoldo ticket (either way, whoever wins the primary) would be pretty crazy.

[joshcryer]

1. Chavez criticizes human rights court over ruling

http://news.yahoo.com/chavez-criticizes-human-rights-court-over-ruling-213117957.html">Chavez criticizes human rights court over ruling
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez criticized the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on Saturday after it ruled in favor of an opposition politician who is seeking to run for president.

The Costa Rica-based court said in its ruling released Friday that Leopoldo Lopez should be allowed to run for office despite a decision by Venezuela's top anti-corruption official that had barred him from being a candidate due to a corruption investigation.

Chavez said the court is part of an international system that "protects the corrupt and obeys the mandate of the (U.S.) imperial power and the bourgeoisie."

"What value can that court have?" Chavez said. "For me, it's worthless."

Kind of expected.