Venezuelan vote may cost freedoms
Constitutional changes could remake nation into another Cuba
President Nicolás Maduro’s push to rewrite Venezuela’s constitution to strengthen his powers threatens to send the country hurtling even faster toward Cuban-style authoritarianism, critics and Latin American experts warn.
The socialist leader, facing a steadily deteriorating economy and rising political opposition, has called for a public vote Sunday to elect a 545-member National Constituent Assembly that would rewrite the 1999 constitution. That document first started Venezuela down the road toward a socialist state under populist leader Hugo Chávez.
Though the exact changes to the constitution are not known, they will almost certainly lead to a communal state controlled by the central government, said Philip Gunson, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group.
“Changing the current constitution ... is the building block of the 21st-century socialist system,” Gunson said. “That will change Venezuela into a political system much like what we have today in Cuba.”
Since winning its revolution in 1959, Cuba’s Communist Party has run the Caribbean island without any competition or political freedoms.
The death toll in the months of civil unrest in Venezuela has reached 101, according to the lat- est Associated Press tally released Thursday.
Ahead of Sunday's vote, the State Department ordered relatives of American diplomats to leave the Venezuelan capital and authorized the voluntary departure of government employees from the embassy in Caracas. An updated travel warning also urged U.S. citizens to stay away from Venezuela because of the unrest and violent crime.
The Trump administration slapped Venezuela with new sanctions Wednesday, targeting 13 current or former top officials in Maduro’s government, and threatened more punitive measures if Maduro goes through with Sunday’s vote.
If Venezuelans support Maduro’s plan, “everything will be controlled by the state,” said Ivette Mestre, 56, a psychologist from Maracaibo. “That is communism because the government will control everything, like private businesses.”
Opposition leaders called for an informal referendum on July 16 so Venezuelans could register their dissent to changes to the constitution. More than 7 million did so.
That vote came amid almost daily protests against Maduro and his ruling Socialist Party, who have presided over the collapse of the country’s economy despite having the world’s largest oil reserves. Inflation is sky high; most consumer products are in short supply and unemployment keeps climbing.
Supporters of Maduro say the constitutional changes are need- ed to restore stability and preserve democratic institutions.
“The constituent (assembly) is the best alternative to reinstall democracy in Venezuela,” said Jesus Silva, 37, a constitutional lawyer in Caracas. “Once the con- stituent passes, there will be more possibilities of overcoming the current crisis, always in a democratic manner.”
Carlos Perez, a resident of Maracaibo, disagrees and plans to boycott Sunday’s voting, along with thousands of others.
“They are not asking for people’s opinions. There is no popular support,” said Perez, 47, who sells parts for cars.
Experts believe protests and public discontent will not be enough to stop changes from going forward.
“The government of Venezuela has been very good at saying what it is going to do and then doing it,” said Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas and the Americas Society. “You have to believe that what they say they are going to do, is what they are going to do.”
President Trump said this month that the United States does not support the vote for a Constituent Assembly that could rewrite the constitution and threatened to “take strong and swift economic actions” if Maduro goes forward with the plan. “The United States will not stand by as Venezuela crumbles,” Trump said on July 17.
The European Union and Canada also urged the Venezuelan government to abandon plans for a Constituent Assembly.
Opposition groups are leading national strikes and mass protests ahead of the vote. Opponents of the Maduro government led a 24-hour national strike on July 20 that barricaded the streets of Caracas, leaving at least two dead, the AP reported.
“Changing the current constitution ... is the building block of the 21st-century socialist system.” Philip Gunson, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group