Above Photo: From PopularResistance.org.
Update: The MUD now has control of 112 seats which gives them the most authority allowed for the legislature under the Venezuelan Constitution. They can now launch a referendum to recall President Maduro. See below for all the details of the power they have to remake Venezuela. There are threats to repeal all the progress made in the last 15 years.
Note: Below are three articles describing the election results in Venezuela. This is the first time in 15 years that the Chavistas have lost a majority in the National Assembly and the country now goes into the unchartered territory of divided government. Maduro applauded democracy and accepted the results, hopefully that ends the nonsense of calling him a dictator and begins to recognize Venezuela as a healthy democracy.
Venezuela faces some tough challenges. Will the opposition party with its new majority seek to solve those economic problems working with Maduro? Will Maduro be able to triangulate as President Clinton did when Republicans took control of the US Congress? While Maduro is talking about doing so, the opposition is talking about their first task being the removal of Maduro if they get a large enough majority.
Some members of the ruling party are taking their defeat as a wake up call and opportunity to deepen their work with communities, calling for a new revolutionary offensive. Pierre Marais works for the municipality with social missions on planning with communal councils, said “For me the most important thing to learn was that the same people who voted for Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro also voted for MUD, as a protest vote. We Chavistas, we are very sure of ourselves. Too confident. Maybe there was a lack of understanding, so the government needs to get closer to the neighborhoods.”
The opposition has a majority with 107 of the 165 seats. There are also three indigenous seats who will ally with the conservatives. The power of the opposition increases if it gets an even larger majority,with a some seats still undecided.. Geoff Ramsey describes the power the legislature acquires as their majority grows in VenezuelaBlog:
With a simple majority of more than 50 percent of the National Assembly (84 members), the opposition can:
- Issue a vote of no confidence in the Vice President and cabinet Ministers
- Investigate and question public officials
- Have a deciding role in the national budget and debt debates
- Approve an amnesty law
- Select the members of the Supreme Court of Justice
- Approve laws on health, justice and basic goods
- Name ambassadors
- Convene national referendums on matters of special importance and amendments to the Constitution (with National Assembly approval)
- Attribute to states or municipalities certain issues that currently fall under national competence
- Authorize the President to leave the country (for 5 days)
- Elect the President of the National Assembly, and its two Vice Presidents
- Indict congressmen
With a qualified majority of 3/5 of the National Assembly (101 members), the opposition can:
- Decide that a vote of no confidence in the Vice President or cabinet Ministers should lead to their dismissal, and subsequently dismiss them
- Authorize presidential decrees allowing expanded executive authority (so-called “enabling laws” or “leyes habilitantes”
- Appoint members of the National Electoral Council (CNE)
- Remove members of the CNE, provided it is backed by a ruling by the Supreme Court
With an absolute majority of 2/3 the National Assembly (112 members), the opposition can:
- Remove Supreme Court justices in cases of gross misconduct
- Subject any bills under discussion in the National Assembly to approval by referendum
- Convene a National Constituent Assembly, as well as a recall referendum for President Maduro
- Submit international treaties, conventions or agreements to referendums
- Pass and modify any draft organic law (laws which determine the fundamental political principles of a government)
Below are two articles on Venezuela and a third article by Evo Morales the president of Bolivia about how the revolutionary struggles in Latin America must fight against US imperialism, recognizing that since the election of Hugo Chavez, the United States has been working to end the Bolivarian Revolution of Socialism for the 21st Century. The US sees Venezuela as a lynchpin of multiple left governments in the region and has been working to destabilize all of them with Venezuela as their top target. KZ
What Could Venezuela’s Opposition Do With a Simple, 3/5, or 2/3 Majority?
While polls in recent weeks have led many analysts to expect Venezuela’s opposition to gain a majority of the 167 seats in the 2015-2020 National Assembly, the exact nature of this majority could vary widely. The Venezuelan Constitution requires different thresholds of votes in order for the National Assembly to pass certain measures. These thresholds can be grouped into three categories: those requiring a simple majority, those requiring a “qualified majority” of three-fifths of the Assembly, and those requiring an absolute two-thirds majority.
With a simple majority of more than 50 percent of the National Assembly (84 members), the opposition can:
- Issue a vote of no confidence in the Vice President and cabinet Ministers
- Investigate and question public officials
- Have a deciding role in the national budget and debt debates
- Approve an amnesty law
- Select the members of the Supreme Court of Justice
- Approve laws on health, justice and basic goods
- Name ambassadors
- Convene national referendums on matters of special importance and amendments to the Constitution (with National Assembly approval)
- Attribute to states or municipalities certain issues that currently fall under national competence
- Authorize the President to leave the country (for 5 days)
- Elect the President of the National Assembly, and its two Vice Presidents
- Indict congressmen
With a qualified majority of 3/5 of the National Assembly (101 members), the opposition can:
- Decide that a vote of no confidence in the Vice President or cabinet Ministers should lead to their dismissal, and subsequently dismiss them
- Authorize presidential decrees allowing expanded executive authority (so-called “enabling laws” or “leyes habilitantes”
- Appoint members of the National Electoral Council (CNE)
- Remove members of the CNE, provided it is backed by a ruling by the Supreme Court
With an absolute majority of 2/3 the National Assembly (112 members), the opposition can:
- Remove Supreme Court justices in cases of gross misconduct
- Subject any bills under discussion in the National Assembly to approval by referendum
- Convene a National Constituent Assembly, as well as a recall referendum for President Maduro
- Submit international treaties, conventions or agreements to referendums
- Pass and modify any draft organic law (laws which determine the fundamental political principles of a government)
What to Expect from a Counterrevolutionary National Assembly in Venezuela
Venezuela’s socialist PSUV party, which has led an ongoing process of deep social change since 1999, was defeated in Sunday’s National Assembly elections, for the first time in 17 years.
ANALYSIS: The Causes and Consequences of Venezuelan Election Results
While the final vote count is not yet in from rural areas and from those places where it was too close to call, what is clear is that in winning at least 99 of the 167 seats available, the opposition politicians now command a majority. But what might this look like?
The MUD announced Monday that its first priority—should it win the two-thirds majority—would be seeking to replace President Nicolas Maduro, whose term does not end until 2019.
The coalition also plans to provide amnesty for its list of at least 70 people in prison. Some were jailed for causing the 2014 violence which left 43 dead, the most high-profile of whom is Leopoldo Lopez, who was sentenced in September to over 13 years for public incitement to violence and association to commit crimes during fatal protests, which were orchestrated by Lopez and other opposition leaders.
ANALYSIS: The Distorted ‘Democracy’ of Leopoldo Lopez
Another move, according to Miranda state’s Governor Henrique Capriles, will be to create a body to investigate the PSUV government. According to El Nuevo Herald news website, Capriles also said the new National Assembly members should “not work for one party,” but did not clarify who they should work for.
#VenezuelaElections | @NicolasMaduro : “Counter-revolution has won in Venezuela” pic.twitter.com/XTumRxqE3L
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) December 7, 2015
There will also likely be significant changes to the National Assembly television channel, ANTV. The station, which was created to enhance citizen access to the political workings of the country, may either have its funding cut, or become an opposition alligned propaganda channel, Venezuelan news outlets and commentators said Monday. The media has been significantly reformed during the socialist revolution to increase community participation, as well as that of excluded groups.
OPINION: If Only the US Media Were More like Venezuela’s, by Joe Emersberger
Other policies aim to put a corporate agenda back at the heart of Venezuelan life, replacing public services with private sector partnerships.
Several leaders of the opposition spoke openly about reforms to the PSUV’s wealth redistribution efforts. Capriles said, “Look at what is happening with companies in this country … with all that is expropriated or confiscated.”
ANALYSIS: Venezuela’s Opposition: Still Muddy, Still Divided
In line with a pro-business climate, the MUD will go after the government’s Fair Prices Law, which was created to prevent hoarders and smugglers from speculating with government-regulated goods, such as food staples and oil, and to set a reasonable profit, based on the cost of production. Instead it will repeal the law in favor of what opposition leader Correira Cristofer called “quality macroeconomic policies.”
Another government scheme the opposition loves to hate is the housing mission, which has delivered nearly a million homes to low-income Venezuelans. Among the swath of new programs the MUD claims it will enact is the “democratization” of housing, which will allow recipients of government housing to buy their properties and introduce mortgages in future housing programs.
The MUD victory may also significantly change Venezuela’s foreign policy. The socialist revolutionary governments have attempted to claw back sovereignty from economic and political domination by the United States, which has continuously tried to meddle in the country’s internal affairs, going as far as backing a coup attempt in 2002 and, more recently, spying on the state oil company. The opposition, meanwhile, has continued to work with the U.S., lobbying for Lopez and now declaring that it wants to “accompany dialogue” in this new political situation in Venezuela.
Venezuelan Opposition Sweeps Parliamentary Elections
Caracas, December 7th 2015, (venezuelanalysis.com) Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) has released the preliminary but “irreversible” results of the country’s National Assembly elections.
In the early hours of this Monday morning, Tibisay Lucena, the President of the CNE, congratulated the Venezuelan people on its impressive “demonstration of civility” before announcing that the Venezuelan opposition coalition, the Roundtable of Democratic Unity (MUD), had swept to victory in the Venezuelan legislative elections.
According to Lucena, the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) has so far gained just 46 seats in parliament while their political opponents, the MUD, have gained 99 out of a total of 167 – according to the most recent count. Twenty-two seats are yet to be announced, including three representatives for the country’s indigenous population.
Tibisay also highlighted the unprecedented levels of political participation and revealed that turnout had reached 74.25% of the registered electorate.
The announcement came on the heels of intense voting throughout Venezuela, with many voting centres remaining open following their programmed 6pm closing time in order to attend to voters queuing outside.
The victory hands the MUD a “simple majority” in the National Assembly, but this could change to a “qualified majority” depending on the outcome of the remaining twenty-two seats.
If the MUD goes on to win 100 seats it will be able to remove ministers from the presidential cabinet. If it manages to gain more than 111 seats, the coalition would wield enough power in the legislative body to dismiss Supreme Court Judges and reform the Constitution.
President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and leader of the PSUV, Nicolas Maduro, moved to accept the results – the most debilitating defeat for the ruling Chavista government since it came to power in 1999 – immediately on national television.
“It’s not a time to cry, it’s a time to fight,” stated Maduro.
“The struggle for socialism is just beginning-we are experts in starting over, we came from the streets, we are the people of difficulties,” he added.