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Venezuela’s Chavista-controlled parliament suspended a session scheduled for Tuesday that had included approving a controversial law on “anti-fascism,” a term coined for the opposition that critics see as a means of criminalizing government critics.
The text is part of a package of laws requested by President Nicolas Maduro, who condemned the attempted coup against him and challenged his re-election to a second six-year term until 2031.
“I follow the instructions of the President of the National Assembly, Congressman Jorge Rodríguez Gómez, to inform you of the suspension of the extraordinary session,” wrote the Secretary of Parliament, María Alejandra Hernández, in a letter to the deputies, which was forwarded to the media on Monday evening.
This is not the first time Parliament has been suspended at the last minute. A date for the debate has not yet been set.
The “Anti-Fascism, Neo-Fascism, and Similar Expressions Act” includes a ban on parties and imposes fines of up to $100,000 on companies, organizations or media that fund activities or spread information that “incites fascism.”
When Chavismo makes its decision, its approval is certain: after the opposition boycotted the 2020 legislative elections, it holds 256 of the 277 seats in parliament.
You can also read: They asked to recuse a judge in the Venezuelan president’s “certification” because of his links to Chavismo
Last week, parliament approved a law regulating non-governmental organizations that has also been heavily criticized by activists. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called on the authorities to stop approving laws that “undermine civic and democratic space.”
Congress also plans to legislate on social networks, which Maduro claims are used to incite violence and launch “hate campaigns.”
The president has already suspended the country’s X network and pushed for a boycott of WhatsApp.
Maduro was declared the winner of the July 28 election with 52% of the vote, but the opposition, led by Maria Corina Machado, claimed victory for its candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, and claimed to have evidence of his victory.
When the CNE results were announced, protests broke out across the country, leaving 25 people dead, nearly 200 injured, and more than 2,400 detained, with Maduro calling them “terrorists.”
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