Tensions in Venezuela continue to intensify following the dismissal of attorney general Luisa Ortega and a rebel attack on a military base. The key events of the crisis that Maduro is failing to manage.
The Venezuelan government led by socialist president Nicolás Maduro celebrated the results of the controversial elections called on 30 July to form a new executive body, the Constituent Assembly, with the aim of rewriting the 1999 constitution. On 5 August, on its first day of activity, the Assembly dismissed attorney general Luisa Ortega, a figure who had become an inconvenience for the Maduro regime. The increasingly tense political situation also gave rise to the formation of an armed rebel group that proclaimed itself the Brigade 41 of Valencia, the capital of Carabobo state, and attacked a military base the following day.
The drastic measures to create the Constituent Assembly are, within a constitutional crisis, yet another move aimed at consolidating Maduro's power and undermining the opposition. The conflict began in December 2015 when the ruling party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Psuv), lost its parliamentary majority in the elections. In March 2017, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, composed mainly of the president's supporters, took control by dissolving Venezuela's parliament (the National Assembly). Since April, at least 157 people have been killed in 6,729 protests organised across the country, according to reports by some external observers. Furthermore, the president's popularity hovers at around 20 per cent.
The elections that led to the creation of the Constituent Assembly were condemned by several international institutions, foreign governments and Venezuelan civil society. The opposition maintains that the vote included only candidates from Maduro's party and that voters were given no opportunity to reject the Assembly's creation.
On 5 August, Mercosur, the regional economic integration institution, decided to suspend Venezuela's membership in order to intensify the political isolation of the Maduro regime. The declaration was welcomed by the Organisation of American States (Oas), another regional integration body, which described it as "an exemplary decision in defence of the principles that unite our countries and sends a message of hope and support to the people of Venezuela, who are fighting for their rights and their freedom".
The new Assembly has already removed attorney general Luisa Ortega from her post; she had always spoken out explicitly on matters such as human rights violations and the unconstitutionality of the government's actions. "We are just a small example of what happens to those who oppose a form of totalitarian government," Ortega wrote in a statement to the Venezuelan people. Officially, her removal from office came on account of "serious offences", for which she will answer before a disciplinary commission. In the meantime, her assets have been frozen, she has been banned from leaving the country, and she has been barred from holding any public office.
On 6 August, a group of armed rebels from Carabobo, a state near Caracas, released a video declaring the need to "restore constitutional order and save the country from total destruction", calling on the legislative assembly to "recognise and respect the will of the people to be freed from tyranny." At least one person was killed, one was wounded and seven others were arrested following clashes in Valencia between rebel soldiers and the armed forces. "We have been struck by a terrorist attack," commented Jesús Suárez, the army's commander-in-chief. Maduro has in fact promised that the armed rebels involved will be caught.
The Venezuelan constitution introduced in 1999 by the late socialist leader Hugo Chávez stipulates that it cannot be revoked by force but only through a procedure set out in the document itself. Should the measures taken fail to comply with this, the constitution calls on "every citizen (…) to help restore it." Its final provision states that "the people of Venezuela (…) must repudiate any regime, legislation or authority that violates democratic values and principles and human rights." In the face of the situation, the Venezuelan government has taken extreme measures to consolidate Maduro's power, resulting in the erosion of political freedoms and the rule of law in the country.
Devastated by political, economic and ideological turmoil, Venezuela is suspended between two fatalistic scenarios. On one hand, a coup d'état and a civil war do not seem so unlikely; on the other, the fear of repression could lead the nation to surrender. Only time will tell whether a middle ground still exists beyond these troubling political tendencies. The recent elections and the dismissal of the attorney general suggest that the Venezuelan people must make their decision now, because soon there will be less and less left to save.
Translated by Camilla Soldati
