
Ten years ago, when Manuel Quijada and Luis Miquilena were appointed to oversee a wholesale overhaul of the judicial system, chavismo claimed ending this culture of permanent provisionality was among their top priorities. But nothing has changed. The vast majority of lower court judges remain, essentially, disposable...absolutely in the hands of their patrons on TSJ and the higher ranking courts.
Of course, cases like Torres's, where a straightforward order is refused and matters come to a head, are a very small minority. Like anyone else, lower court judges need to pay the rent: in Chávez era Venezuela, where the state controls more and more people's ability to make a living, people don't imperil their livelihoods lightly. Only sporadically does a case like Torres's come up, and then the government finds itself compelled to make an example of her, pour encourager les autres.
Under normal circumstances, judges aren't kamikaze. They do what they're told.
Post 28 of 100. I think I can, I think I can...