Chavismo has repeatedly accused some opposition sectors of the country of being fascists. It is a word that is used as an insult in daily political conflict and has now been translated into a law to prohibit messages and the existence of organizations that are considered fascist. The vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, presented a proposal from the Executive this Tuesday. Parliament has already given its approval in a first discussion. The Law against Fascism, Neofascism and Similar Expressions opens a new door for the control at the discretion of the Government of political freedoms and expression in Venezuela, amid a tightening of the persecution against opponents, journalists and critics.
“Stopping fascism in the world is a task that cannot be postponed for the good of humanity, because it not only manifests itself in expressions of hate, violence and death, but also in forms of economic fascism, such as the criminal blockade imposed against Venezuela,” he said. Rodríguez before the parliamentarians. The law describes the features of “the ideological positions and expressions” that it will pursue: “Common features of this position are racism, chauvinism, classism, moral conservatism, neoliberalism, misogyny and any type of phobia against human beings.” ”.
The law has 30 articles and states that its purpose is to “establish the means and mechanisms to preserve peaceful coexistence and public tranquility,” as well as “protect Venezuelan society from the emergence of any expression of a fascist, neo-fascist or similar order.” ”. A High Commission against Fascism, Neofascism and Other Expressions, appointed and regulated by the President of the Republic, will dictate guidelines, regulations and policies related to this law which, upon its approval, will prohibit certain messages, organizations and meetings and demonstrations in Venezuela. The proposal should go through a second discussion in Parliament.
In the description of the “prohibited messages” they indicate those that promote “violence as a method of political action”, “reproduce the culture of hate”, “denigrate democracy and its institutions”, “promote the suspension of rights and guarantees” and “exalt principles, facts, symbols and methods of fascism.” The Public Ministry will be the one that determines what messages and acts can be interpreted within this diffuse framework of prohibitions.
Article 22 states that “any person who requests, invokes, promotes or executes violent actions as a means or means for the exercise of political rights will be punished with imprisonment of eight to twelve years and political disqualification for the duration of the sentence.” What is considered fascism in the law also constitutes an aggravating circumstance for any other punishable crime that the authorities consider was motivated by these positions or expressions.
The official has said that this law is complementary to the Political Parties Law, so these organizations would be the first to be targeted by this legislation. She also, she said, develops the so-called law against hate, approved in 2017 and under which people have been imprisoned for tweeting, sharing messages on WhatsApp or disseminating videos with complaints or jokes against the Government that have gone viral.
In his speech before the deputies, Rodríguez referred to the government protests of 2014 and 2017 — in which more than a hundred protesters died due to the repression of the security forces — and made a comparison between the opposition leaders of those times and those of the current with Adolph Hitler. “We have passed these stages of La Salida in 2014, the guarimbas in 2017, and today the extremist sector has been summoned at the end. I want to remember that Hitler called for the final battle and exterminated millions of men and women on the European continent, and today history repeats itself. We must ask ourselves what they mean when they speak until the end, because there is again the germ of violence, hatred and extermination,” he said, referring to María Corina Machado's campaign slogan that promises Venezuelans to go “to the end.” ” on the electoral route for a change of Government.
In recent months, Chavismo has launched a strong hunt against Machado's party, Vente Venezuela, and has imprisoned several members on accusations of being involved in alleged conspiracies to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro. In an already complex route to the presidential elections on July 28, this law opens a path for the illegalization of political parties—following the path of the Nicaraguan regime. It also establishes the impossibility of holding public office for those who, before the election, have “adopted conduct that directly promotes or defends” these ideas and establishes that non-compliance with this law is among the grounds for challenging candidacies. Chavismo advances in its objective of eliminating any competition that threatens Maduro's permanence in power.
The proposal establishes fines for the dissemination of “prohibited messages” to print and digital media. In the case of television and radio, the established sanction is the revocation of the concession to operate, as has already been done with more than 300 stations in the last two decades. Radio, television, press, digital media and social media service providers are obliged to guarantee “spaces free of messages of a fascist nature.” Likewise, the Public Ministry is given the power to apply precautionary measures to interrupt activities that promote or advocate fascism, neo-fascism and similar expressions, as well as suspend related calls and demonstrations.
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