Political scientist and activist Nicmer Evans warns that the bill approved by the constituent assembly convened by Nicolás Maduro grants him quasi-monarchical powers and paves the way for a wave of privatizations that will be carried out practically in secrecy

On October 8, the constituent assembly convened by Nicolás Maduro passed a bill, known as the anti-blockade law, allowing the Executive Power to decide on the fate of state assets and property without the need to provide public information on transactions, in contravention of the mandate of the Parliament to exercise its constitutional duty of oversight.

For Nicmer Evans, political scientist, activist, founder of the Marea Socialista movement and current director at news site Punto de Corte, the legal instrument has caused a buzz not only in the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (United Socialist Party of Venezuela, PSUV), but also within the wider political left, not only because it opens the way to the privatization of even the oil industry, but because it turns the Executive into a kind of monarchical power.

“There is tension in there. There is the position of the Communist Party of Venezuela and the orthodox left, who took the bill as the declaration of Maduro as a neoliberal who surrenders to external interests,” said Evans during a phone interview.

A “pre-monarchical” anti-blockade law, according to Nicmer Evans

-What is your opinion on the anti-blockade law? Some sectors within the left and the government itself have warned about the possibility of a wave of privatizations that would reach the oil industry

-Let us start with the fact that the law does not provide for “constitutional” laws. They created a new Kelsen pyramid, a new legal structure. They justify the decision with the fact that the effects of the economic blockade have been qualified as crimes against humanity, which the United Nations itself holds the government responsible for. But there are some relevant elements, like claiming the power to void rules, which is an impressive thing.

“We can say that the law is‘ pre-monarchical, ’” Evans argued. “It turns the Venezuelan Executive Power and those who exercise it into a kind of 21st-century monarch, with the power to void rules at will. It is capable of empowering a man to do all that just because he decides he is supreme, ”Evans said.

In his opinion, the legal instrument is a carte blanche to privatization. “I see it as a problem of form; I think it is good to make some privatizations, but it risks falling into an ideological debate 21 years into the dismantling of the private sector; Now they realize that the private sector is necessary and wonderful, and the law recognizes that the expropriations made by Chávez were a mistake and try to amend things by saying that all those assets that were seized can return their owners if they wish to invest”.

Risky secrecy and provisionality

Evans stressed that the anti-blockade law establishes conditions for investment, but they are subject to two elements. The first is tied to a law that is defined as temporary, and the second to aspects that are classified as a secret until the law is repealed. “This risks any negotiation with the private sector for the return of property to be immediately questioned because it can be reviewed by the Comptroller’s Office,” he said.

He drew attention to the fact that the National Assembly (AN-Parliament) is being stripped of its power to legislate in the economic field and exert supervision under the law. “There is only room for subsequent control in the new bill. This means someone can steal, grant a license and only then check for what was stolen. This is very concerning”.

Also, he pointed out two elements in the law that he considers alarming. One is the possibility of voiding some norms; he says that article 303 of the Constitution protecting the PDVSA stocks will not be void, but the legal regime can allow, for example, to stop considering drug trafficking as a crime, as article 21 of the anti blockade bill talks of “new mechanisms or sources of financing in any of its forms”. “If they have the power to void rules, they can legalize drug trafficking, because that helps them to generate income beyond the blockade ”.

A warn about PDVSA

However, he warned that PDVSA can also be dismantled and sold off. “Articles 23 and 24, specifically article 24, establish that the Executive Power may modify public or mixed companies, although the same article states that it does not apply to article 303 of the Constitution regarding PDVSA. The bill speaks of the possibility of restructuring companies and organizations at the discretion of the Executive Power, as well as changing ownership status, which implies that, although you are not going to violate article 303, you can reduce it PDVSA to its stocks only and sale the assets or disaffiliate its properties so they can be handed over without technically affecting article 303.

In the view of Evans, there is a clear violation of the principle of national sovereignty that outrages not only the left. “Even those on the political right think this is crazy, so they are going to reconcile left and right this time.”

– What do you think is the situation with the PSUV and the wider political left regarding this new law?

-If the December 6 elections mean the breakdown of the APR (a platform of pro-government parties), the anti-blockade law will create a rupture within the left. There is no justification to support Maduro in this. National Constituent Assembly Deputy Telemaco Figueroa argued that the fight against that blockade is no excuse to hand over the State to other countries. It is scandalous.

Systematic violation of human rights

-The United Nations Fact-Finding Mission held Nicolás Maduro and two of his ministers responsible for crimes against humanity. As a former political prisoner, what can you say about the violations of human rights in Venezuela?

-The violation of the right to due process is one common element among the cases presented in the report and the ones I encountered in detention since I met more than 50 prisoners at the DGCIM headquarters (General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence); it is a systematic and continuous element. The UN report made evident the use of torture; it is real and we know it. We must emphasize the problem of a judicial system that works with treachery against political prisoners.

“The authorities are obliged to present the detainee to courts in the first 48 hours of the arrest. It has become a customary practice to present the detainee before a control court so that he declines before the competent court; this gives an additional 48 hours for filing. No detainee has been presented in time (during the first 48 hours) but 96 hours later. Also, I came across cases in which people were kidnapped, a kidnapping that simulates detention, and spent 15 days to a month before being taken to court.

Evans added that the documents are forged to show that the person was detained 24 or 48 hours before the presentation. This is the case of one of the young men accused of a drone attack against Nicolás Maduro in 2018, who told me that in his file showed he appeared before the court, but he was detained much earlier.

Many end up becoming political prisoners

“There is indeed a widespread violation of fundamental human rights,” he continued, “respect for life, personal integrity are violated; Regarding the right to due process, some people have been detained for more than three years without a preliminary hearing, despite the obligation to hold the preliminary hearing within 90 days of the arrest or release the prisoner if the hearing does not take place in the first two years. So, courts use the practice of “dividing” the preliminary, ‘The DGCIM takes the detainee to the court, the judge comes in and holds a 10-minute conversation with him and says we are going to postpone the hearing’, over and over again”.

“Take the case of Ramón Bustillos, a PDVSA worker accused in the monobuoy case who has been detained for three and a half years now. He should have been released but is kept in prison with a “fractional” preliminary hearing. He has not had the right to defense or the opportunity for due process, and he is one of many cases of people who end up becoming political prisoners, even if they have been charged for corruption, embezzlement of public funds, or whatever the authorities want to attribute to them, ”Evans said.

The political scientist argued that, due to all these irregularities, many people become political prisoners. “A political prisoner is no longer a politician imprisoned by the regime, but rather a person in detention who sees his human rights and the right to due process violated. There is a third element; this person is often held in detention centers for political prisoners. The DGCIM and SEBIN headquarters or the Ramo Verde penitentiary are detention centers for political prisoners. Even if they try to involve you in non-political events, if the detention center is one of those and you meet the requirements I mentioned, you are a political prisoner ”, he argued.

Old quarrels 

Evans expressed respect for Foro Penal and thinks that their criteria for determining who is a political prisoner are accurate, but he considers that the concept should be expanded to go beyond conventional political prisoners or people detained for political action.

“Some people inside the regime have been indicted for corruption to cover up the truly corrupt; such is the case of Alfredo Chirinos (former PDVSA manager), who was accused of treason. Public bodies are susceptible, many political prisoners belong to the ranks of the regime itself. I met several military political prisoners during detention, including Alfredo Chirinos and other workers and managers of the public sector handed over by their bosses to cover their own wrongdoing or settle old quarrels.

Evans referred to the well-known case of a PDVSA-Oriente executive who was in Costa Rica and returned to turn himself in, “they told him it was a quick probe, and he, committed to the revolution, came back and has now been detained for four years. He underwent heart surgery at a military hospital and was returned to his cell, without any condition of hygiene. He was saved because everyone showed solidarity and took care of him. I am not saying whether or not he is guilty, but rather that the judicial system turns any detainee for these reasons into a political prisoner, ”Evans said.

Rampant Torture

Nicmer Evans assures that, as pointed out by both the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Fact-Finding Mission, torture is systematically practiced in Venezuela and he was subjected to this type of treatment during his detention, although he admits he met several others who had it worse.

“After I left, I compared myself to those who had been tortured and said that I had not been tortured, but abuse and psychological torture are also forms of torture. This happened from the moment of my arrest; telling me things like “you are not a damn Chavista”, as if that would hurt me, made me argue with them, and even prevented me from going to the bathroom for 18 hours, was a deliberate form of torture'”.

In the same way, he said that he was presented with audio recordings with the voice of his wife and son, and that, at another time, he was put in a place with people having symptoms for covid-19. “I had some symptoms and spent days sleeping on the floor with all the symptoms: pain, fever, breathing problems, loss of smell. I understand that all these things have changed a bit thanks to the efforts of the UN human rights commission, but I experienced them, “he said.

Likewise, he recalled that he was given drinks in filthy cups. “I cannot complain about the food. As far as I know, it was always well handled, “he said.

Other cases of Torture

Nicmer Evans mentioned the case of a colonel who was subjected to a particular type of torture. “He was told to take two one-gallon bottles of water, one full and one empty. He was taken away, and I never saw him again; The guards later picked up his belongings from his cell and took. Cellmates say that when they do that, prisoners are taken to “El Tigrito”, a ten-square-feet room where you cannot sleep, you are deprived of light and appropriate maintenance amid nauseating smells. It is the punishment cell where some prisoners are taken by the decision of the managers after they allegedly violate some provision.

“Some people spent days in the punishment cell. The same happened to another colonel. The punishment is systematic and blatant. I remember cell 4 in sector C, 65 square feet room with a couple of tombstones as beds, where the detainees are not given mats or proper clothing and go 15 days without a shower. They only have one toilet and have to relieve themselves in front of everyone else. They also have restricted access to food ”.

Evans said that this situation became more nuanced towards the end of his stay. “I was able to bring food to some of them, but we were not allowed to speak even though we were in front of each other. They had lost a lot of weight and did not have access to complementary food; Sometimes they did not get full meals. Lighting was discretionary, prisoners would spend one day in the dark and another two with the lights on permanently.

-The United Nations Security Council ordered the extension of the Mission on Venezuela. What do you think the Mission can and should accomplish?

– Anything that is useful to lessen the impact of the suffering of those behind bars is welcome. Bachelet’s mission has been able to visit the DGCIM a few times, and each time they do, conditions improve for some. Ideally, they should be released, there should be no political prisoners, but if we manage to ensure that some are not subjected to ill-treatment or torture and are allowed to keep in touch with their family, it will always be a triumph.

-You have mentioned the presidential recall referendum as a political recourse for Venezuela. Do you think that such a consultation can be held when the Executive usurps functions?

-Maduro is a usurping president, but that does not take away his status as president. He is a president in illegal and illegitimate exercise, but he is in office. A recall referendum is for whoever exercises power. The precedents are important, the Chilean plebiscite is important to understand how consultations work; so I believe that the possibility of having a recall referendum is fully valid. It is a political debate with a capital P because it is the only binding instrument from the perspective of the Constitution that they and we recognize and the institutions are obliged to comply with, including the Armed Forces.

“What I am proposing is to achieve an agreement on national unity regarding the dispute over the conditions for a recall referendum, assuming that the conditions do not have to be given by the person exercising power, the usurper, but by ourselves in unity to achieve the goal,” concluded Evans.

Translated by José Rafael Medina