The Latin American Report # 299

Venezuela: What's next?

The Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ in Spanish) in the oil-producing nation has determined that the bulletins issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE in Spanish) on the July 28 elections—granting victory to Nicolás Maduro—are “valid”. There is nothing new here, although there was certainly some expectation with the narrative. In the end it has all been very simple: the highest judicial authority has validated the conclusions of the electoral power without much fuss, drawing on a legal wording of little stature.

There is still no disaggregated data to support the controversial proclamation of Maduro as winner, and the only thing that the TSJ's decision does in this regard is simply to urge the CNE to comply with the provisions of the corresponding legislation. The main opposition candidate did not show up to the judicial process—an expert assures that it was the place to defend his claims—, and so he was declared in contempt by the electoral chamber, which could result in criminal sanctions. The Attorney General has warned again that he will go on the attack to prove crimes such as “usurpation of functions” and “forgery of public documents”.

Then, it is a real unknown what comes next for the opposition. According to the Venezuelan legal system, in practice, the result of the electoral process is res judicata—that is, unobjectionable—, and so the Government has affirmed that it is a closed chapter. The opposition had already stated on Wednesday that it would consider “ineffective” and “null” any judicial decision “certifying” the victory granted by the CNE to Maduro, who reacted to the decision with a speech in which he looked very firm and resolute, sheltered by a crowd which shows that Chavismo continues to have a strong electoral base. The Bolivarian National Armed Forces supported the sentence of the judicial authority as well.

In the international arena, on Wednesday it was learned that Washington was preparing a list of around 60 Venezuelan officials and their relatives to be sanctioned, responsible for “[allowing] electoral fraud and repression”. The mediation attempted by Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, three countries with left-leaning rulers, does not seem to have any future, while Chile, Uruguay, and Guatemala have already strongly disowned the decision of the TSJ announced this Thursday. A special UN mission to Venezuela also denounced that the judicial and electoral powers lack independence and impartiality, and more reactions of rejection to the actions of the judiciary will surely be added in the coming hours. Anyway, this particular act of the Venezuelan political scene ended today.

And this is all for our report today. I have referenced the sources dynamically in the text, and remember you can learn how and where to follow the LATAM trail news by reading my work here. Have a nice day.