Delcy Rodríguez acknowledges abuses under Venezuela's Hate Law and calls for reform

Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, acknowledged on Tuesday, September 29, that the country's Hate Law had been applied abusively and asked the National Assembly to reform it urgently. Her request reached lawmakers in a letter dated Monday, and she discussed the law publicly during an event in Portuguesa state.

The proposal focuses on decriminalizing conduct covered by the law. Assembly president Jorge Rodríguez announced a commission to prepare a bill for legislative debate. Creating that body starts a parliamentary process, but it does not establish the final scope of the changes or what they would mean for cases brought under the current law.

The 2017 legislation, passed by the Constituent Assembly, provides prison terms of up to twenty years for certain offenses. Human rights organizations have long criticized its broad language and alleged use against critical expression. The acting president's acknowledgment of abusive enforcement brings those complaints into the center of the legislative debate.

Espacio Público, the National Press Workers' Union and the National Journalists' Association have urged lawmakers to go beyond removing prison terms. They warn that administrative sanctions, restrictions on media outlets and censorship mechanisms could remain if the revision is narrow. That is the groups' position; the eventual text will depend on the legislative process.

Two questions now matter: which provisions will change, and what will happen to people prosecuted under the law. The political announcement alone answers neither. The bill and its handling in the Assembly will show whether the reform changes the protections available for public expression.