Anti-blockade law in Venezuela would deepen

Maduro's authoritarianism
The anti-blockade bill further affects the Venezuelan
economy and accentuates the notion of growing
authoritarianism. An analysis with experts.

The economic measures that Nicolás Maduro has taken

in Venezuela tend to generate more criticism than
praise, and the consequences are evidence of the failure
they have had in the past. The new anti-blockade bill
does not escape the criticism of financial analysts, but it
also reveals between the lines how the Executive will
govern the Venezuelan economy in the face of more
international sanctions and an endless economic crisis
where Venezuela has been in recession for 7 years and
5 years with the highest hyperinflation in the world.

The new anti-blockade bill was born in the midst of a

geopolitical turbulence that puts the permanence of
Chavismo in power at risk. In the first place, for
analysts it was contradictory that Nicolás Maduro
handed over the text of the law for approval by the
National Constituent Assembly (ANC), when just a
month ago he announced that this body, created by
himself, would cease operations in December 2020,
when a new National Assembly (NA) would be elected.

The ANC is considered illegitimate by the more than 50

countries that support the AN, which has an opposition
majority. Constitutional lawyer Juan Manuel Rafalli
said in an interview with DW that he considers that
passing this law would be unconstitutional since
"regardless of its illegitimacy, in the way it was
convened and appointed, the Constituent Assembly in
Venezuela is mandated to draft a new Constitution and
not to replace any constituted power, as is the case of
AN, which has been handcuffed by unpresentable
judicial decisions. That is a usurpation of the functions
of the AN ".

It would not be the first time that the ANC has

passed laws amid criticisms of usurpation of
functions, but it is contradictory to give it that
responsibility, a few months after an alleged
cessation of operations and a questioned
parliamentary election where the opposition
majority will not participate. For Rafalli "the anti-
blockade law is a law that, curiously, is presented
in the midst of a series of doubts about electoral
fraud that has been called for December 6, that is,
after the European Union (EU) said that there was
no conditions, the candidates from Capriles, from
the Force of Change, withdrew and, in addition to
that, there is a kind of very clear current, in the
sense that this electoral event would be a fraud. "
Framed in measures to counteract international
sanctions that have further affected the
Venezuelan economy, the anti-blockade bill
deepens outward the notion of growing
authoritarianism in Venezuela, as it grants Nicolás
Maduro exceptional powers. But it would not be a
drastic change to the executive powers currently
exercised by the Venezuelan president, since
since 2015 27 decrees of State of Exception and
Economic Emergency have been approved that
grant the president functions similar to that of the
new bill.

What changes with the anti-blockade law?

While the economic emergency decrees have been
Chavismo's response to what they call an "economic
war," the anti-blockade law refers to the US sanctions
as the cause of the problems in the Venezuelan
economy. The economist Ronald Balza explained to
DW that the new law "allows to emphasize the external
enemy rather than the internal one." This means that
more than economic measures they are political
strategies, since "it aims to link the provisions of the
law with international legislation, which may force the
aforementioned multilateral organizations to establish a
position on unilateral sanctions imposed by other
governments," says Balza.

One aspect that has caught the attention of some

analysts is that the law would grant Nicolás Maduro the
power to modify or manage the operation of public and
mixed companies, and how said law is related to private
companies to reactivate those that are idle. For Balza it
is a novelty that a "possible recognition of ownership to
owners who were limited in their exercise is
established, although the approval of the plan to put
companies into operation continues to give the
government the last word."

Maduro's proposal not only indicates that the

government could restore their expropriated companies
to former owners. It could also open the doors for the
privatization of public companies that have been failing
in their services or greater investment by allied
countries in Venezuelan industries that have declined,
such as the oil company PDVSA. According to Balza,
"insisting on the supra-constitutional power of the
Executive and the ANC can facilitate alliances or
support from countries such as Russia, Iran or China.
That is, the sanctions, instead of weakening Maduro,
facilitate countries that are contrary to the United
States. . alliances with your government. "

Human rights with restrictions

The announcements that promote the presentation of the
anti-blockade law explain that the regulatory
framework seeks to guarantee the validity of Human
Rights in the face of the impact generated by the
sanctions on the Venezuelan economy. However,
Ronald Balza explains that "of the aforementioned
rights, those of life and health stand out, but those of
access to information are restricted." In addition, "the
reports and statistics that would allow the Executive to
de-apply regulations would not necessarily be
disclosed, being retained or mediated by an
Observatory contemplated in the new law," clarifies
Balza.

For the lawyer Juan Manuel Rafalli, much of what the

law itself contemplates is unconstitutional since "it
means changing the government system and turning this
into a presidentialism without management controls,
without a budget regime, without freedom of
information, that is, it is a law proper to totalitarian
regimes ". Despite the aspects that could be seen as
positive to defend and reactivate the economy in
Venezuela, the economic forecasts do not improve. The
failures of the proposed law to provide transparency
and comptroller to the regulatory framework could
generate "income from the allies that this regime has
but that will swell the coffers not of the republic, but of
the rampant corruption that exists in the country
"Rafalli sentence.