Jorge Rodríguez: Hate cannot be repealed, but mechanisms can be established to contain its manifestations

Published at: 03/11/2026 07:13 PM

The president of the National Assembly (AN), Jorge Rodríguez, questioned the expressions of hate, discrimination and political disqualification that persist in different sectors of the country and defended the need to reform the Anti-Hate Act to turn it into an instrument that contributes to strengthening coexistence, without being used to persecute any person for their ideas or political positions.

During the regular session, in his speech at the first discussion of the draft reform of this legal instrument, Rodríguez argued that hate cannot be eliminated through a legislative provision, but it is possible to establish mechanisms to contain its manifestations and prevent speeches of intolerance from turning into aggressions and acts of violence.

“Hate, unfortunately, cannot be repealed and it can't be contained either because they start posting tweets and end up burning people alive,” he said, warning of the risks of dehumanizing the political adversary and recalling episodes of violence recorded in Venezuela, the Última Noticias portal reported.

In this context, the parliamentarian referred to publications released on social networks during the years 2017 and 2018, in which, as he said, threats were being promoted against leaders, officials and citizens identified with Chavism.

He cited messages calling for the use of burnt oil, steel pipes and rubble to prevent the passage of motorcycles and official patrols, under the indiscriminate identification of their occupants as alleged supporters of the Government.

Rodríguez questioned the logic of these expressions and asked what would be the criteria for determining that a person who rides a motorcycle or a police patrol is a target for political reasons. In his view, this type of allegation converts ideological differences into justifications for exercising violence against other citizens.

He also recalled the case of Juan Vivas Santana, who was prosecuted under anti-hate legislation, was detained in 2019 and received a pardon in 2020, as part of the agreements reached at a political negotiating table.

Rodríguez pointed out that, despite his release, he subsequently continued to spread offensive messages and threats against family members of political leaders, which he used to argue that hate speech does not automatically disappear with the application of a rule or with judicial measures.

During his speech, the deputy questioned the attacks directed against political leaders who participate in dialogue and negotiation processes. Rodríguez expressed concern about the disqualifications against Dinorah Figuera, who, according to him, Esteban Gervasio described her as a “political prostitute” for participating in one of the dialogue tables.

She considered that this type of expression constitutes a manifestation of political violence, especially when it is directed against women who intervene in negotiating spaces to seek agreements between different sectors.

In this regard, he recalled that the regulations of the Law for the Protection of Families, Maternity and Paternity —although during his speech he referred to legislation for the protection of women in an environment free of violence—contemplate more than 25 forms of political violence. Among them, he said, are expressions of disqualification such as the one reported against Figuera.

“What crime has Dr. Dinorah Figuera committed? Nothing, sitting at a dialogue table and looking for some kind of agreement mechanism,” he said.

Rodríguez remarked that Venezuela is going through a process of dialogue that seeks to create conditions for reaching political understandings, but warned that these efforts are affected when those who participate in the negotiations are subject to insults and public attacks.

He also questioned the expressions that, as he indicated, are intended to attribute exclusively to certain social or political sectors the conditions of intelligence, academic preparation and decency necessary to participate in State institutions.

As an example, he mentioned comments on the process of selecting new magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) and rejected questioning the capacity of professionals because of their political identification. “There are very intelligent Chavistas, very studious, with doctorates and decent people,” he said, denouncing what he described as manifestations of racism and discrimination.

The deputy also recalled the difficulties faced by political negotiation processes and noted that, on different occasions, those who have attended the dialogue tables have ended up withdrawing due to attacks and disqualifications. “I am a victim of these dialogue tables,” he said, referring to the occasions when, as he said, the commitments made to advance agreements have not been fulfilled.

Directly addressing the amendment to the Anti-Hate Act, Rodríguez recalled that the reform initiative responds to the need to review the application of this legislation. He mentioned the questions raised about its use, as well as the need to correct those aspects that have not been properly applied.

In that context, he argued that the purpose of the parliamentary discussion should be to ensure that the norm does not become a mechanism of political persecution. “We are determined that in effect it is not a law that implements the persecution of anyone,” he emphasized.

However, he insisted that manifestations of hate are still present and that their persistence makes it necessary to have legislation that establishes limits against behaviors that threaten integrity, dignity and citizen coexistence.

To illustrate this situation, he mentioned attacks against journalists, including the one reported against Reynaldo Mozo, reported by the National Union of Press Workers on October 22, 2026. She also reported threats against a citizen who was trying to enter her home and who was insulted and threatened with death by people who identified her as Chavista.

According to Rodríguez, these episodes demonstrate that political intolerance can reach people who do not even participate directly in partisan activities, but who end up being singled out by prejudices or by the perception that others have of them.

The parliamentarian also questioned racist expressions and attacks directed against citizens because of their skin color, as well as the use of surnames and family ties to extend political disqualifications to people who do not necessarily participate in the confrontation.

During the final part of his speech, he expressed his agreement with the aspiration that the time would come when the legislation would not have to be applied because expressions of political hate had disappeared from Venezuelan society.

“Hopefully the point and time will come when this law is absolutely inapplicable, because expressions of political hate have disappeared,” he said.

He also called for recognizing errors, rectifying and preserving the efforts made to move towards reconciliation and the strengthening of democracy. He recalled that since January 5, joint actions have been promoted between different sectors, including through political concessions, to seek conditions of understanding.

Rodríguez insisted that coexistence must be built collectively and that political differences cannot become reasons to threaten, attack or ignore the human condition of others.

At the end of his speech, he resumed the approach that went through his entire speech: the impossibility of eliminating hate through a law and the responsibility of society and the State to prevent its manifestations from leading to violence.

“Did you succeed in repealing the hatred that lurks in some of your hearts? Did they succeed?” , asked the deputies, in a reflection with which he emphasized that the challenge of legislative reform is not limited to modifying a legal instrument, but also raises the need to build conditions for political and social coexistence.

Mazo News Team