Abstract
For a long time, the Venezuelan democracy was an exception in South America due to a party system that was based on what was known as the ‘Punto Fijo Pact’. At the start of the 1980s a series of economic, social and political events began to occur, which caused this ‘exceptionalism’ to stagger and disrupt the institutionality of the traditional Venezuelan democratic State. The events led to a deep national crisis and the birth of a new political era. By the end of the 1990s, there had been a significant shift towards left-wing governance. Hugo Chávez Frías subsequently won the presidential elections in 1998. This paper analyzes some aspects of the criminal policies that were implemented during the reign of left-wing leader Chávez till his death in 2013 and thereafter by Chavist party president elect, Nicolás Maduro during 2013-2014. Four stages can be identified in the behavior of incarceration rates. The first stage, from 1999 to 2000, was characterized by the lowest recordings of incarceration rates and the lowest measured percentage of preventive detention in Venezuela in thirty years. The second stage, from 2001 to 2005, saw a slight increase in the incarceration rate which then remained stable. The third stage, from 2006 to 2012, and the fourth stage, from 2013 to 2014, are characterized by sustained increases in preventive detention, incarceration and murder rates.
Highlights
From a representative democracy to a participative and protagonist democracy For a long time, the Venezuelan democracy was an exception in South America, due to a party system that was based on what was known as the ‘Punto Fijo Pact’
Even though we can say that this formal democracy appeared to be different from the other dictatorships in the Southern Cone, the ruling governments still persecuted and murdered political opposition members and leaders within leftist organizations
The procedural system moved from being inquisitorial to being adversarial, establishing trial in freedom as a rule. This quickly brought with it a significant decrease in detainees, incarceration rates and overcrowding of the prison system
Summary
The decrease in incarceration rates coincided with a slight decrease of the main types of crime and with an increase in the homicide rate. Crimes that were considered severe were excluded from potential benefits or detainees would have to opt to increase their total sentencing time to be able to access those benefits In spite of this the incarceration rate continued to rise during 2012 to 164 per 100,000 inhabitants, of which 62.7 per cent were convicted. The plan was developed by the Public Safety and the National Armed Bolivarian Forces and aimed to strengthen control points and expand the areas of surveillance and patrols in the most dangerous urban areas, spreading extensive police tactics in the form of short‐term operations This represented a return to prominence of the military in public security, the role of which had been progressively eradicated through police reforms in the government which began in 2006 and continued over the course of President Chávez tenure. By August 2014 the prison population accounted for 52,099 people with an incarceration rate of 172 per 100,000 inhabitants. This reflects a trend, commencing in 2007, towards greater use of imprisonment in response to crime, a trend to which the police operations have undoubtedly contributed
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