The National Assembly is a one-chamber institution that exercises the legislative power of Venezuela by constitutional mandate. However, its capacity to act has been undermined since 2016 by a series of measures taken by the Executive and Judiciary. In this report, we explain how the National Assembly’s powers have been progressively curtailed and where it stands at the moment.

2016: National Assembly (NA) Declared in Contempt by TSJ

The first event came after the general elections of December 6, 2015, when the opposition won 56.2% of the vote, with 112 of the 167 seats. In January 2016, the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) declared the National Assembly in contempt for swearing in three deputies despite the issue of a precautionary measure by the TSJ temporarily suspending the election. The acts dictated by the legislative body would be considered null and void until the Court’s decision was complied with.

2016: 73% of the Laws Passed Declared Unconstitutional

During 2016, Venezuela’s highest court declared 11 of the 15 laws passed by the National Assembly unconstitutional, considering that these initiatives violated sections of the Constitution referring both to the recognition of Venezuela as a Democratic and Social State, and to the faculties of the Executive branch.  The Special Law to Deal with the National Health Crisis, the Law of Amnesty and National Reconciliation, the reforms to the Law of the Central Bank of Venezuela, the Organic Law of the Supreme Court of Justice, the Law of Comptrollership and the Law of Telecommunications are among those affected.

2017: Supreme Court of Justice Takes Over Functions of NA

In March 2017, the Supreme Court of Justice issued a ruling announcing that it would assume all the powers corresponding to the NA: “As long as the situation of contempt and invalidity of the actions of the National Assembly persists, this Constitutional Chamber will guarantee that parliamentary powers may only be exercised directly by this Chamber or by the body appointed by this Chamber to safeguard the rule of law.”

2017: Maduro Convenes National Constituent Assembly

In May 2017, Nicolás Maduro created a National Constituent Assembly (ANC for its acronym in Spanish) through Presidential Decree No. 2830. Elections took place in July and August, after the institution was formally constituted, with no opposition representation. The ANC took over the NA’s legislative powers at the time held by the TSJ, which included the authority to dictate parliamentary acts as laws. Since then, the NCA has passed all the bills filed by the Executive. Although formally, the National Assembly was not dissolved, it was deprived of its powers, and its coexistence with the ANC implies a duality in the Legislative branch that exacerbates Venezuela’s institutional crisis.

2019: Immunities of 22 deputies of the NA removed

In 2019, 22 NA legislators were deprived of their parliamentary immunity. In most cases, the decision was based on alleged links to the April 30 protests. For the removal of immunity, the TSJ makes the request and the ANC approves it. This situation, together with that of legislators in exile or persecuted, puts at risk the possibility of reaching the required quorum of 84 deputies.  At the end of May, a member of the Internal Policy Commission of the NA reported that they were working on a “virtual quorum” mechanism to ” keep the voice and vote of deputies who are currently in exile, in hiding or persecuted”.

2019: Will Legislative Elections be Brought Forward?

In mid-May, Maduro declared that the NA “is the only institution that has not been legitimized in five years,” a situation he maintains, justifies holding early elections. In this way, the ruling party could aspire to regain control of the NA. If it succeeds, then the ANC as a parallel legislative power would cease to exist.  The term of office for Deputies runs until January 5, 2021, as elections were originally scheduled for December 2020.

The actions taken by the Executive and Judiciary since 2016 have undoubtedly undermined the NA’s legislative powers and faculties, although from a political point of view, it continues to play an important role in the context of the country’s crisis. The weakened assembly is the forum where Juan Guaidó is seeking to legalize his claims and actions, and its decisions, although deprived of legal validity domestically, are being oriented to support Juan Guaidó’s diplomacy and government plan. This is borne out by the draft bill on hydrocarbons, the approval of the payment of PDVSA bonds, and the discussion of international treaties.

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