On January 10th, 2025, Nicolás Maduro was inaugurated to serve his third consecutive term as the president of Venezuela. This confirmed the results of the presidential election, which took place in July of 2024, although many regarded it as neither credible nor democratic. Independent analysts and observers noted serious irregularities in the vote count, and prior to the election the government abused their resources to bar opponents from competing as well as ensure that media coverage overwhelmingly supported Maduro’s campaign. This represented an escalation in the erosion of the mutual toleration norm and the destruction of any hope for a path towards democratic rehabilitation in Venezuela.
According to Levitsky and Ziblatt, mutual toleration refers to the idea that as long as our rivals play by constitutional rules, we accept that they have an equal right to exist, compete for power, and govern. Maduro has repeatedly demonstrated that any political dissent or opposition will be aggressively clamped down on. Perceived opponents of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) are routinely subject to arbitrary detention and persecution. The government does not accept political rivals or their supporters as legitimate, so they justify any means to defeat them. Maria Corina Machado was the leading opposition candidate going into the 2024 election, but Venezuela’s Supreme Justice Tribunal disqualified her from running for office.
Leading up to the inauguration, the government passed multiple laws curtailing the ability of the opposition to express their views and mobilize. The passage of the Simón Bolívar Law, which went into effect on November 29, 2024, penalizes anyone who promotes, supports, or benefits from sanctions imposed on Venezuela by foreign powers and has been used primarily against state actors for their alleged involvement in corruption. The law also targets anyone who publicly rejects the decisions of government bodies, including the 2024 presidential election. It allowed for the creation of a national registry of people suspected, not proven, to be engaging in “actions contrary to the state’s non-negotiable values and rights.”
Additionally, on November 15, 2024, the Law on Oversight, Regularization, Operation, and Financing of Non-Governmental and Non-Profit Social Organizations was passed, tightening government control over civil society. More popularly known as the Anti-NGO bill, this law grants authorities the ability to deny NGOs the ability to operate based on their sources of funding, specifically international, and to be evaluated based on a perceived terrorism or fascist threat. Both of these laws contain vague criteria for what constitutes a threat to the state and are easily abused to target and suppress opposition. Those who are involved in corruption or incite domestic terrorism against the Venezuelan population but are allied with Maduro are not subject to the enforcement of these laws.
In this sense, the law is being applied unevenly against people the government perceives as a rival. Maduro does not have forbearance, and instead is using the institutional powers available to him to the max. Given that the judiciary is not independent from executive influence, he is able to utilize the legal system to certify his own claim to power, as well as persecute the opposition. As a result, the Venezuelan democratic system has been severely damaged, leading to mass protest and deep discontent within the population.
Hi Anusha! This post is great and highlights how far democratic erosion has gone in Venezuela. I found it interesting how the Maduro regime is using laws like the Simón Bolívar Law and the Anti-NGO bill not just to silence dissent, but to essentially criminalize basic democratic activity. Instead of seeing rivals as competitors, Maduro treats them as enemies of the state. There’s also no meaningful check on his power, which makes it scary since legal systems can be manipulated to give authoritarianism a democratic veneer.
Anusha, your post powerfully captures the institutional collapse in Venezuela, especially through the lens of mutual toleration. Your examples, such as the disqualification of María Corina Machado and the enactment of the Anti-NGO and Simón Bolívar laws, make it abundantly evident that Maduro is utilizing the legal system to further solidify his authoritarianism. I thought your explanation of how democratic norms are being methodically undermined using Levitsky and Ziblatt was especially clear. With respect to the regime’s use of legality as a weapon, I particularly agree with your claim. Since it is more difficult to expose and simpler for regimes to defend, I believe that this form of “stealth authoritarianism” is even more dangerous than overt repression. However, I believe it’s important to recognize that some forms of resistance – independent journalism, civil society, and international scrutiny – remain relevant. Emphasizing these could give the context more depth and start a discussion about what accountability levers are still available.