In Venezuela 82% of people live in poverty

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 governmentsupporters 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.