September 02, 2020

Andrew Campbell 

The president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, decided to pardon around 110 opponents, including 20 lawmakers who had been accused of fighting against Mr. Maduro. This decision caused different feedbacks. 

Mr. Maduro stated his major purpose in a television speech. He stated that many people might be upset about his decision on pardoning opponents, but this was his responsibility to develop a nation with a trustworthy communication. 

This presidential pardon will release before the next National Assembly election in December. Some considered this a trap to create a democratic image of Venezuela. One of the opponents, Juan Guaido, appreciated Mr. Maduro’s decision but he thought this was a trap and he would still continue to boycott the election. He still considered the former president candidate Henrique Capriles manipulated the election. 

Even though this decision received some negative concerns domestically, international community gave positive feedbacks for the value of human rights and reconciliation. Maria Lucrecia Hernandez, director of Civil Association of Human Rights, mentioned this action would improve the domestic reconciliation in Venezuela. She also highlighted this action is to encourage and improve the peaceful dialogue in Venezuela. Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated this action increased the space of democracy and truly implemented human rights. 

Mr. Maduro might adopt this strategy to show a positive image of democracy. However, the government seemed to arrest more opponents after they released a small group of opponents. 

Photo:Webshot.