Caracas (AFP) – A small group of Venezuelan parliamentarians called on Tuesday for the definitive repeal of the law against hate, considering that it maintains its "frightening and coercive essence" against the population, after in the last decade it was used to imprison government critics.

First modification: 04/11/2026 - 18:17

President Delcy Rodríguez recently recognized the "abusive use" of this law in the past and proposed a reform that would change sentences of up to 20 years in prison for administrative sanctions.

However, the main human rights NGOs in Venezuela demand its repeal.

The reform of the law was approved this Tuesday in first reading with the vote in favor of the official majority and against some deputies of the opposition faction made up of 29 legislators. This parliament has 285 seats.

"It is not enough to propose the change of prison for fines, because in this way the project would be preserving its frightening and coercive essence," said Amelia Belisario, deputy for the opposition party Vamos Vamos Venezuela.

The new text must be discussed and voted on in another session for final approval.

The legislative discussion occurs ten months after the fall of Nicolás Maduro in a US military operation.

The anti-hate law made it easier to arrest political leaders, opponents, journalists and even ordinary people just for posting anti-government memes on WhatsApp.

"We deny our vote because Venezuela does not need to disguise intimidation to make it more sophisticated or dress it up with good intentions. Venezuela needs to eliminate any rule that violates constitutional rights and guarantees," added the opposition representative who assured that the "law must be repealed."

Representative Maite Ochoa, from the same political faction as Belisario, said that "trying to reform this text is holding up a sword of Damocles over the common citizen, over the journalist who reports, over the neighborhood leader who demands water or electricity."

For his part, Jorge Rodríguez, leader of parliament and brother of the interim president, defended the law and called the opponents "Bourbon right."

"Hate unfortunately cannot be repealed and it is not contained either because they start by publishing a tweet and end up burning people alive," he declared while reading messages on social networks against Chavismo and defending the existence of a law that punishes violence.

The first approval was given although the opponents had not received the reform project, which was distributed at the end of the session.

Delcy Rodríguez, who has governed since January under pressure from Washington, promoted an amnesty that allowed the release of some 1,000 political prisoners.

According to the NGO Foro Penal, at least 927 people have been charged with "incitement to hatred" since 2017, when this law was implemented after months of anti-government protests.

© 2026 AFP

The content you requested does not exist or is no longer available.