Venezuela may have reversed the ruling that stripped the National Assembly of its legislative powers, but that does not mean democracy has been restored.
In the December 2015 elections, after 17 years of so-called “revolution”, the opposition coalition won 112 seats in the 167-seat National Assembly, while the pro-government party retained 55 seats. The ballot had a turnout of 74.17%, and was organised by the same national electoral council (CNE) that had overseen previous elections won by the government party. There was no doubt, then, that the vote was fair and that the opposition had received a clear mandate for change.
However, every single law approved since then by the National Assembly has been blocked by the government of president Nicolás Maduro and by his cronies in the supreme court. On multiple occasions, opposition legislators have been assaulted by the National Guard, the police and other government supporters. While all of this happened, the state-controlled economy imploded, leading to shortages in food and medicines. As Venezuelans have turned to the bins for food, protest and dissent continue to be met with repression and arbitrary arrests.
So it was not a surprise, last week, that the Organization of American States met to discuss the deterioration of democracy and human rights in Venezuela. Maduro’s reaction to this was not unexpected either – he might not know how to run a country, but he is an expert at abusing democracy, human rights and the constitution. In two successive rulings, the supreme court limited parliamentary immunity and stripped the National Assembly of its legislative powers.
As governments in the western hemisphere reacted to “a flagrant breach in the democratic order”, the Maduro regime and its mouthpieces insisted that democracy was intact. On Friday, Venezuelans were amazed to see their attorney general, who until then had been anything but independent, join the voices condemning the coup against the National Assembly.
Demonstrating almost sociopathic levels of cynicism, president Maduro argued that he was not aware of what the Supreme Court had done and asked the judges to review their rulings. On Saturday, the magistrates reversed their decisions and all was forgiven and forgotten.
So back to “democracy”, then? Not really. That same Saturday, the National Guard tried to arrest an opposition legislator who they said no longer had parliamentary immunity. On Sunday, the head of an opposition party was arrested for “high treason”. And, on Monday, opposition legislators were assaulted by government supporters while police stood by.
If anything, then, it is back to the systematic abuse of democracy and human rights. Monday evening’s resolution by the OAS permanent council calling for “the full restoration of democratic order” was immediately rejected by the Venezuelan government.
Incredibly, there are still people in the UK who support Maduro. Just last month, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) hosted the Venezuelan ambassador and the Venezuelan Solidarity Campaign in an event to warn that Donald Trump is a threat to Venezuela’s sovereignty.
One has to wonder if the ITF is aware that, under Hugo Chávez, “anti-union discrimination, violations of collective bargaining rights and the non-respect of collective agreements were frequent and persistent in both the public and private sector”. The Venezuelan government crushed unions while firing and blacklisting tens of thousands of workers for their political opinions. Is that consistent with the values of one of the biggest union federations in the world?
What about the speakers in last month’s event? This included Labour politicians, academics, antiwar, antinuclear and union activists. Do they agree with the way Maduro manages the opposition? Is that how they would deal with dissent? Do they approve of the Venezuelan government support of the “colectivos” armed groups that have murdered unarmed protesters? Do they believe that war and violence are legitimate if they come from the left?
Apparently, there is not much you can do about hardliners who still support the madness of the Venezuelan “revolution”. Especially those, like actor Danny Glover, who have received millions of dollars from the Venezuelan government to produce films that, 10 years on, have still not been released.
But what about the dozens of politicians and journalists – including the leader of the opposition – who until very recently lauded the “achievements” of Hugo Chávez and have now gone quiet? They always seemed to suggest that they had the wellbeing of the Venezuelan people at heart. Now that 82% of households live in poverty, they don’t seem interested at all in what’s happening in Venezuela. It is a shame, because their voices could really come in handy as the world calls on Maduro to restore democracy and respect human rights.