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Venezuela Update

A new law designed to encourage “broadcast message aimed at promoting peace, tolerance, equality and respect,” has been passed by the Constituent Assembly in Venezuela. (November 8, 2017)

On the surface it sounds great. Getting rid of hate messages is a good call. 

Unfortunately, the Constituent Assembly isn’t recognized as a legitimate governing body by most of the world, and they are the ones determining what is and is not hate speech. 

"Venezuela’s opposition parties are in disarray. President Nicolas Maduro now seems to be capitalizing on their weakness with a law stifling dissent. It was passed by the Constituent Assembly that Maduro and his ruling social party recently created, and which they control. The law bans … material on the airwaves, or via social media, that’s deemed to incite hatred or violence. Social media operators must immediately pull posts defined as illegal, it says. Violators face ten to twenty years in prison. … Many countries, including the U.S., don’t recognise Venezuela’s Constituent Assembly and will see this crackdown as an attempt to consolidate a dictatorship.”

-NPR’s Phillip Reeves

Maduro already had a history of authoritarian stances about the press and his opponents. This is going to deepen that reputation. 

Meanwhile, their debt is slipping on the edge of default since they haven’t made the payment that was due last Friday. Which means a finance industry body now about to decide whether default insurance should be paid out. (FT)

In general, an authoritarian or a dictator, when their power is threatened is harsher than before to consolidate their power. Considering the monetary crisis, it is likely that the hate speech law will be used to target anyone speaking negatively about the Maduro government. 

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