Venezuela: judgments in absentia, ban on holding public office… Maduro’s constitutional reform worries

Sentences of 30 years in prison for political offenses, lifetime ban on holding public office, judgments in absentia… The contested President Nicolás Maduro has declared that he wants to reform the Constitution, fueling the opposition’s fears of an authoritarian drift like in Nicaragua.

“A major reform” to “embellish” the Constitution, promised Nicolás Maduro when he was sworn in on Friday for a third term. His re-election is denounced by the opposition which claims the victory of its candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, forced into exile.

Laws that will “further worsen” the treatment of the opposition

The ruling National Assembly approved a law in November that provides for sentences of 25 to 30 years in prison for “any person who promotes, incites, solicits, invokes, favors, facilitates, supports or participates in” adoption of international sanctions against Venezuela.

According to Ali Daniels, director of the NGO “Access to Justice”, the package of laws in preparation will “further worsen” the situation of political opponents and will close the spaces that civil society keeps open, as best it can. The authorization of judgments in absentia, which according to Ali Daniels are prohibited by the current Constitution, is also on the cards, as is a 60-year ban on holding public office and fines exceeding the equivalent of a million dollars.

As in Nicaragua, Parliament passed a law requiring non-governmental organizations to declare their funding sources, particularly if the funds come from abroad. Under this law, more than 5,600 NGOs had to cease their activities in Nicaragua.

Also on the agenda of the Venezuelan National Assembly is a “law against fascism”, which intends to ban political parties promoting fascist activities. “We are all against fascism, the problem is that the government tends to characterize it as fascists its opponents”, warns Ali Daniels who denounces the “ambiguity” of these bills.