The Venezuelan National Assembly (AN) has approved, in its first discussion, the draft partial reform of the Constitutional Law Against Hate, for Peaceful Coexistence and Tolerance, a legal instrument that is being reviewed at the request of the executive branch. The law must now go to the committees for discussion and public consultations, and then to a second discussion, where it will be debated and approved article by article, as the constitutional law creation process mandates.The introduction of the draft was led this Tuesday, November 3, by the first vice president of the parliament, PSUV Deputy Pedro Infante. He explained that the main objective of the draft law is the transformation of hate crime legislature, which was the product of a moment of irrational political confrontation in 2017. “We are going to propose this law as a law for rehabilitation, to be called the Law for Democratic Coexistence, Peace and Tolerance,” the parliamentarian added.Infante clarified that the reform does not seek to forget those who lost loved ones, those who suffered criminalization for thinking differently, or law enforcement agents who fell in the line of duty. On the contrary, he highlighted that the aim is to move toward reparation in unity, eradicate violence from political debate, and correct excesses committed in the enforcement of the law.“All the dead, all the suffering, we should have avoided,” he stated. “Lynching and burning people alive for being or appearing to belong to certain political movements or parties, that is not politics. That is barbarism.”Deputy Infante explained that, although various sectors consider that the law should not have existed, the law is the result of the context of violence recorded in 2017 and documented by the Ombudsman’s Office and the Public Ministry. That scenario affected education, preventing children from attending classes; health, making it difficult for patients to access treatment; and the economy, after the destruction of commercial establishments.The deputy noted that the initiative to modify the law came from President Delcy Rodríguez, who sent it to the National Assembly on September 28. Among the reasons presented are, first, rehabilitating hate provided for in the current law, and second, favoring national reunion and democratic coexistence, Infante said.Opposition bloc withheld their votesDeputy Rubén Limas (AD) reflected on the meaning of hate, and as a physician said that peace must be guaranteed in the face of the wounds left in Venezuelan society.Deputy Amelia Belisario (PJ) spoke to save her vote on behalf of the Libertad parliamentary bloc, and said that this first discussion rejects the partial reform of the law, given previous requests for its elimination.She said the law should be fully repealed instead, so that hate and fear are transformed into trust, and its intimidating and coercive essence eliminated. The far-right politician said that real democracy is the guarantee of dissenting without fear, and of participating freely in public changes.Jorge Rodríguez responseThe president of the legislative branch, PSUV Deputy Jorge Rodríguez, said that although there are debates and diverse opinions around the law, the proposal must be rigorously handled so that it fulfills its fundamental purpose of strengthening peaceful coexistence and mutual respect.He called for reflection on the experiences and situations that took place in the country during the guarimbas and the persecution of grassroots leaders. He urged acting jointly to overcome polarization and consolidate the strengthening of democracy in Venezuela.He also reflected on the consequences of violence, hate speech, and the dehumanization of opponents, commenting that it is chilling and horrifying to watch such acts of extreme violence. He recalled cases in which people were burned alive, such as that of the young man Orlando Figuera, just for “looking Chavista.”He noted that hate cannot simply be taken back, nor contained, when it begins with posts on social media and ends in fatal physical attacks.Political reunionRodríguez also recalled the spaces for dialogue promoted for political reunion and participation in past electoral processes such as 2020, which allowed the renewal of the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the incorporation of various sectors into democratic life, with the pardon of 200 incarcerated opposition figures.He said that when expressions of hate, racism, or dehumanization are tolerated without adequate legal consequences, a cycle of impunity is perpetuated that affects peaceful coexistence.In this sense, he referred specifically to far-right hate leader Javier Vivas Santana, who was imprisoned under the Law Against Hate and benefited in 2020. Today, he continues to preach hate against Chavistas on social media, and recently made hateful expressions against the son of Deputy Jorge Arreaza after he was the victim of a car accident.Rodríguez took the opportunity to criticize European fascism after the Nazi Holocaust. Although Europe, in classic colonial hypocrisy, declared a historic “never again” to Nazism and fascism after World War II, these expressions of the far-right remain in force and are growing, he explained.The parliamentarian questioned the use of dehumanizing labels toward political opponents, and gave the example of the use of terms such as “broods” to refer to the children of political adversaries. He argued that this seeks to reduce the human condition of the other to an animal level, in order to later justify acts of violence.Rodríguez affirmed that the reform can be achieved, and that whoever steps outside the channel of coexistence and tolerance will have the law applied to them.Venezuela Opens Applications to Renew Supreme Tribunal of Justice“Whoever steps outside the channel of coexistence, well, let something be done, let something happen to them,” he stated. “I don’t know if that will be in the law like that. But I will feel happy when Javier Vivas Santana, as will surely happen, when I look out the window of my office and see him sweeping and cleaning the Plaza Bolívar in Caracas.” (Alba Ciudad) with Orinoco Tribune editingTranslation: Orinoco TribuneOT/JRE/AU