Article Link: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/19/venezuela-to-shut-all-powerful-legislative-assembly
Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, has recently announced that Venezuela’s National Constituent Assembly (ANC) will disband by the end of this year.
The ANC was initially founded by Maduro in 2017 following government opposition protests that killed over 100 people. It had the goal of reforming the constitution and promoting general peace, unity and stability within the country.
The ANC was widely unpopular from its very inception, with many viewing it as holding too much power and undermining democracy by replacing opposition-controlled legislature and firing officials who disagreed with the government. It was so unpopular, to the point where many Venezuelans boycotted the election to appoint its leaders, and over 40 countries have condemned it, calling it “the consolidation of a dictatorship and a disavowal of the democratically elected legislature.”
One specific way that the ANC went against democratic principles is its vague and widely-applied “anti-hate law” which has been used to jail those critical of the government. The assembly has also caused those critical of Maduro to be fired, such as Chief Prosecutor Luis Ortega.
In Maduro’s speech in which he dissolved this supreme branch of the Venezuelan government, he stated that the ANC accomplished its goal of reforming the constitution, when it in fact did nothing of the sort.
Regardless, the assembly is soon to be obsolete as December’s elections usher in a new parliament, in which a majority of members will belong to the Socialist Party.
The downfalls of the ANC perfectly highlight the dangers of unchecked power. While democracies such as the US allow different branches to limit each other’s power, Venezuela’s ANC was allowed supreme power and consistently went against the Venezuelan people. Though some might see the dissolution of the ANC as a positive step that enhances democracy, it probably won’t make much of a difference as long as Maduro stays in power.
A lot of the conflict in Venezuela stems from Maduro’s controversial presidency. While Maduro claims to be president of Venezuela and retains most of the power, the US (along with 60 other countries) assert that Juan Guaido is actually the rightful president. Until Venezuela enacts serious governmental reform and addresses its worsening economic situation, it is likely that poverty, civil unrest, violence, and corruption will rise to an unmanageable level.
Though you could of course look at this issue from several different theories of international relations, it seems like the issues in Venezuela right now best display realist philosophy. Venezuela’s situation reflects realism, as it is a sovereign state in an anarchic system. Because Venezuela has sovereignty, it is able to act however it wants, unless there is a country with more power that is willing to condemn its actions. Many countries, including the United States and several other Latin American countries have spoken out against the actions of the Venezuelan government, but at the end of the day, no one is going to act unless it is in their national interest. In other words, because the United States doesn’t have extensive economic interest in Venezuela, they are unlikely to take serious actions against them even though there are many people suffering and democratic principles are not being promoted.