Last Sunday, Venezuelans went to the polls to elect a new congress. Depending on whom you ask in Venezuela this election marks either a triumph for the opposition or a vote of confidence for Hugo Chavez’s Bolivarian revolution. One important result of the elections is that Chavez’s party (PSUV) no longer holds a super majority in the legislature. The opposition now has control over 1/3 of the assembly which means that Chavez will no longer be able to use the legislature as a simple rubber-stamp.
According to the latest vote count, members of PSUV won a majority of the seats with 98 out of the 165 seats contested. The opposition, however, won 65 seats and independent candidates won 2 seats.
Critics of the government fear that the government will find ways to circumvent the legislature by creating some sort of parallel governing structure. After all, Chavez has been known to be finding less than ethical ways to circumvent the power of the opposition. For example, after his party suffered some defeats in the last state and municipal elections, he stripped resources from newly elected opposition officials at the state and municipal level. Other analysts believe that the election results will help moderate some of Hugo Chavez’s more radical plans leading him to find more pragmatic solutions to some of the country’s dire problems such as public security.
While we cannot predict the president’s next move, it is important to seize on this new opportunity to try to rebuild some key democratic institutions that have suffered greatly during recent years. After six years of a rubber-stamp legislature, there is now a greater opportunity for real debate on important democratic and economic issues. CIPE and its partner the Center for the Dissemination of Economic Knowledge (CEDICE) have been laying the groundwork for there to be an open, technical debate of public policy issues in the assembly.
CIPE and CEDICE developed a Legislative and Economic Analysis unit to undertake a technical, non-partisan cost-benefit analysis of new national legislation in an effort to inform key decision makers and the general public about the consequences of proposed legislation. Some legislators have already begun using the cost-benefit analyses as an important source of technical information and have also requested specific policy analysis from CEDICE’s staff. CEDICE’s legislative analysis briefs have been widely distributed through events and the media, helping legislators and the general public better understand the intended and unintended consequences of proposed legislation.
With a change in the composition of the congress, hopefully more legislators will start to get better informed about key legislation in order to better serve their constituents, helping to make it a more effective institution and marking a first step in improving democracy in the country.
Published Date: September 28, 2010