The National Constituent Assembly (ANC) of Venezuela, in an extraordinary plenary session on October 8, approved the Anti-Blockade Bill presented by president Nicolás Maduro at the end of the last month. The law will provide the Bolivarian government with mechanisms to face the impacts of the commercial blockade, economic and financial persecution and other unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States against Venezuela.
“This law is an instrument to shield the economy of the country from the constant onslaught of the United States government, which seeks to destabilize the country,” said the president of the ANC, Diosdado Cabello. He emphasized that there is a need to adopt bold measures to confront the constant aggressions and attempts of economic suffocation in order to guarantee the continuity of the revolutionary process in the country.
Lawmaker and an expert on constitutional issues, Hermann Escarrá, clarified that the bill is perfectly constitutional and does not violate any article of the Magna Carta. In this regard, he rejected the objections raised by some “conservative legislators” that the law opens doors to the handing over of the state-owned oil company PDVSA to foreign interests and private capital. He stressed that it rather represents the Venezuelan people’s right to self-defense against political pressure, economic sanctions and imperialist interference.
Legislator and economist, Jesús Farías, also assured that the law will facilitate legal mechanisms to rescue the State’s investment and the income of foreign currency. He also indicated that the law aims to secure the Venezuelan currency, the Bolivar, as well as another domestic patrimony.
The Anti-Blockade Law will promote actions to improve the nation’s income and create incentives to reactivate economic activity and productive alliances. In addition, it will allow the creation of mechanisms to attract large-scale investments and make the State’s shareholding more flexible in joint ventures.
President Maduro thanked the legislators for their support for the bill. “I appreciate the support and contributions of the ANC, in the heat of the intense debate, regarding the proposal that I presented to overcome the criminal economic blockade. The Constitutional Anti-Blockade Law will allow us to move forward with new vigor on the path of the Bolivarian Revolution,” wrote Maduro in a tweet.
According to an online survey published on the Patria Digital platform, 89.7% of Venezuelans expressed their support for the approval of the Anti-Blockade Law in face of the damage caused by the US aggressions.
The bill will be passed to the Council of State so that the body could then request the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) for its assessment on the constitutionality of the Anti-Blockade Law.
