Delcy Rodríguez proposes to decriminalize parts of Venezuela’s Anti‑Hate Law instead of repealing it

The useful part

Delcy Is Downgrading the Law Against Hate Instead of Just Revoking It | Caracas Chronicles Then-Vice President Rodríguez also introduced the Law Against Fascism in 2024, another punitive law that didn't go through. The second round of talks between the 2015 National Assembly and the interim government were supposed to tackle the issues of freedom of speech and press restrictions. Digital blockings to dozens of news websites were lifted in the past two weeks, though many more remain in place.

How it works

• Delcy Rodriguez was the ANC's first speaker but left the post to become Maduro's vice president the following year.
• NGOs like Espacio Publico and Foro Penal have offered their own data on the Anti-Hate Law's impact.
• Are there any estimates by IPYS Venezuela or other similar organizations about the number of people charged by this legislation or how many judicial processes and criminal sentences related to its enforcement?
• During that time, 19 journalists, media workers and communications professionals were arrested or charged for hate crimes.
• There are no official consolidated numbers of how many people have been convicted.

What to take from it

Because the problem of the Anti-Hate law is not reduced to the severity of its punishments. Such a lack of information is part of the problem. In her view, this law was "unfortunately badly applied and therefore, used in an abusive way." The chavista legislature quickly established a special commission on the matter, but beyond that there's not much urgency.

Example or evidence

• We don't have the actual text of the proposal, so we don't know which of its articles will be modified, what behaviors would be decriminalized or what would happen with the remaining restrictions included.
• It also severely punishes any media outlet that carries those kinds of messages by revoking its broadcasting license, closing its website and/or imposing hefty fines.
• Another concern with this legal instrument is its dubious origin: it was passed by the National Constituent Assembly that the Maduro regime set up in 2017.

Details worth keeping

The matter of the controversial Anti-Hate Law was not addressed at the time, but on September 29, Delcy Rodríguez requested the National Assembly to partially reform such legislation in order to "decriminalize the conducts" contained in it. Delcy Rodríguez is once again producing headlines that make her look as a true reformer when in reality the openness is just a crack in the toolkit that had helped the chavista regime to persecute dissidents and crack down on dissent. The proposal was quickly approved in its first reading, but its final passing was postponed weeks after the 2024 presidential vote.

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