‘Anti-Fascism’ Law to Tighten Crackdown on Venezuelan Opposition

(Bloomberg) -- Venezuela’s government sent an “anti-fascism” bill to congress that will tighten the crackdown on its opponents ahead of elections this year.

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The law would impose punishments on the organizers of the massive anti-government protests that took place from 2014. Opposition leader María Corina Machado and her allies, many now in exile, were at the forefront of the rallies.

Vice President Delcy Rodríguez presented the law on Tuesday accompanied by Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino. Since the administration controls the national assembly, the bill is almost certain to pass.

The government of President Nicolás Maduro has ordered the arrest or detained as many as 11 of Machado’s party officials and aides since January. Machado has been banned from participating in the July 28 presidential vote, which polls show she would win by a landslide if it were fair.

The law would ban the dissemination of messages that promote violence, including on social media, according to Rodriguez. It would also ban organizations promoting fascism, while creating special penalties for this, and would also increase the sentences for other crimes if they had been motivated by fascist ideology, Rodríguez said.

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