As Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro puts together plans to rework the country’s constitution, widespread protests have popped up across the South American nation. Most notably, a 24-hour general protest is planned for Thursday to show Maduro the national mood as it reaches a crucial crossroads. 

Maduro has never been particularly popular, but protest tactics have ramped up recently due to his plans to rewrite the 1999 constitution, removing some democratic principles. The first step is a July 30 vote for a “constituent assembly” that would modify the constitution, according to the Washington Post.

The overhaul would give Maduro new powers and potentially extend his term. Maduro’s term is set to end in 2019, but the assembly could vote to remove limits completely. After almost three years of conflict, many view this as Maduro’s final step in achieving a dictatorship.

According to an earlier survey, 85 percent of Venezuelans oppose changing the constitution, according to the Washington Post.

Earlier this week Maduro’s opposition organized a referendum as a sign of protest to show the government how they felt. The results were overwhelming: of the 7.6 million surveyed, 98 percent rejected the government’s plans and urged officials to uphold their democratic principles.

“People will be disappointed if they expect the government to react directly to the results [of the referendum] or change anything,” said Luis Vicente León, a political analyst and the director of the Datanalisis polling agency, told the Washington Post. “More than 7 million people participated actively in an act of civil disobedience and ignored the government’s allegations that it was an illegal one.” Officials from Maduro’s party–the Socialist Party–immediately dismissed those results as inflated due to some citizens allegedly voting twice, but never offered evidence to support that allegation. 

Anti-Maduro protesters have stuck by their values despite the consistent threat of violence against them. Just recently a gunmen fired outside a police station, killing one citizen while injuring four others, according to the Washington Post.  At least 92 people have been killed in three months of clashes between protesters, opposition, and police forces.

The distaste for Maduro’s regime began around 2014 when oil prices began to drop and the Venezuelan economy began to falter, according to the CIA Factbook. The economic crisis left millions of citizens impoverished and hungry. Many began to seek asylum; many of those who couldn’t leave became fierce opponents of Maduro.

Even President Donald Trump spoke out against Maduro. In the past Trump has praised dictatorial, powerful leaders like Vladamir Putin and Rodrigo Duterte, but he came down hard against Maduro. Trump warned of economic sanctions if Maduro’s aims are realized and added that the Venezuelan leader is “bad leader who dreams of being a dictator,” according to Al-Jazeera. 

Still, Maduro vows that he will not change his course of action. He implored his opponents to “sit down to start a new round of dialogue” with his representatives, according to Al-Jazeera.

The 24-hour strike was organized by the Democratic Unity coalition and leaders say that they hope to bring the country’s operations to a standstill by urging businesses, restaurants, and workers nationwide to cease working. Those leading the opposition view the strike as a last-ditch effort to save their country from a looming dictatorship. They believe if they don’t succeed that Venezuela will have its democratic principles discarded and replaced by a dictatorial leader. 

Maduro was handpicked to run the nation by Hugo Chávez in 2013 and then elected later that year in a vote that drew praise from “Chavistas” and sorrow from opposition. So, there is some dispute over whether or not his election was legitimate. 

The coming weeks will decide the course of action that Venezuela’s future takes and will also dictate possible international reactions or interference. So far the issues in Venezuela have been overshadowed by larger world events, but if Maduro succeeds with his power grab, it may be time for international attention.

Josh Schmidt

Josh Schmidt is an editorial intern and is a native of the Washington D.C Metropolitan area. He is working towards a degree in multi-platform journalism with a minor in history at nearby University of Maryland. Contact Josh at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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On April 23, French voters will choose two presidential candidates–the two highest vote getters–to advance to a run-off scheduled for May 7. Recent polls suggest a tight race. The projected victors of the first round–National Front’s Marine Le Pen and En Marche’s Emmanuel Macron–are both expected to net 22 percent of the April 23 vote. But after two successful debate performances, far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon is hovering just behind the front-runners at 20 percent. Francois Fillon, the conservative candidate who is ensnared in a corruption scandal, is right behind at 19 percent of the first-round vote. Though 11 candidates are in the mix, one of these four is likely to be France’s next leader.

Marine Le Pen

Le Pen, the self-professed “candidate of the people” needs no introduction. A populist firebrand in the same vein as U.S. President Donald Trump, Le Pen heads the National Front Party on a platform steeped in anti-immigrant and anti-EU messaging. With a potent brew of Islamaphobia and nationalism, Le Pen has stunned political observers with her success so far, especially considering her family tree. Her father, the former National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, was a blatant anti-Semite and racist. Under his leadership, the party was a fixture of France’s fringe, but never gained traction with a large chunk of voters. That is changing under Marine.

Francois Fillon

Fillon’s campaign has been marred by a corruption scandal that has overshadowed his policies. Fillon has been accused of paying his wife Penelope a hefty salary for a job that didn’t actually exist when he was a member of Parliament. His politics resemble a traditional conservative in the U.S.: he has pledged to cut taxes, open up the market, cut public spending, and increase the number of law enforcement officers.

Emmanuel Macron

A centrist and political novice–though he did serve as Minister of the Economy–Macron’s campaign has surged in recent months as French voters seek a candidate without Fillon’s establishment ties or Le Pen’s anti-EU nationalism. Macron is pro-EU. He has proposed a tax cut for corporations, and an influx of public spending. His social views are largely liberal, and he supports France’s secular society; he has said, however, that Muslim head scarves should not be banned at universities.

Jean-Luc Melenchon

In recent days, Melenchon, a 65-year-old admirer of Mao Zedong and Hugo Chavez, has been biting at the heels of Macron and Le Pen. His views are so far left that some worry he is an undercover communist. He would like to see a huge increase in public spending, he is skeptical of the EU, and he proposes France leave NATO. This is not his first rodeo; Melenchon ran in 2012, capturing 11 percent of the vote. But with his competitors stalling, and as France, like much of the rest of the West, seeks radical solutions, his star is on the rise.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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On Sunday, Ecuadorians went to the polls to vote for their next president. Though eight candidates were listed on the ballot, Ecuadorians were ultimately expected to choose between Lenín Moreno, from the ruling socialist Alianza PAIS party, and Guillermo Lasso, a center-right candidate running for the second time. With almost 90 percent of the vote counted, Moreno leads Lasso by 10.8 percent. However, Moreno’s 39.11 percent share of the vote leaves him just shy of the 40 percent required to avoid a run off election and win outright. In spite of his comfortable first round win, a run off could spell the end for Moreno, a decade of socialist rule in Ecuador, and hammer yet another nail in the coffin of Latin America’s leftist resurgence.

Over the past few years, the ruling party’s popularity has waned. The early days of the Alianza PAIS era were marked by strong economic growth but as global oil prices dropped, the commodity-dependent Ecuadorian economy began to stall. Allegations of government corruption compounded credibility issues posed by the economic downturn. While Moreno was expected to win the first round of votes, it was unclear whether or not he would be able to win the election outright. Looking increasingly vulnerable, Moreno could very well lose the potential run off.

Lasso’s objective was to prevent Moreno from reaching 40 percent in the first round so as to build a majority coalition capable of defeating Moreno in a second round. In his speech last night, Lasso called for the 60 percent of Ecuadorians that rejected Moreno to form a centrist coalition. After placing third, center-left candidate Cynthia Viteri urged her supporters to vote for Lasso. However, even if Lasso drew the support of every single Viteri voter, he would still be about six percent short of a run off-winning majority. Fourth-placed center-left candidate, Paco Moncayo, received nearly seven percent of the vote but refused to support either candidate in a second round.

While Viteri’s and Moncayo’s supporters rejected Alianza PAIS, it is important to note that they sit left-of-center. It remains to be seen what portion of this sizable center-left voting block will opt for centrism over a leftist status quo. If a run off becomes a reality, Lasso and Moreno will be forced to fight for scraps.

Lasso has promised a radical departure from current government policy. He has vowed to cut taxes for business to encourage foreign investment and slash government spending. All of this, Lasso claims, will result in a million new jobs for Ecuadorians. While Moreno has promised to make alterations to socialist rule, he intends on advancing Correa’s legacy. Over the past decade, Alianza PAIS members have worked to reduce poverty and have joined other leftist Latin American leaders in demanding increased regional integration.

Moreno’s predecessor, Rafaela Correa, took office as the “pink tide” swept through Latin America. Newly elected left-leaning governments throughout the region promised a shift away from neoliberalism by using commodity exports to increase social spending. Many of these leftist movements were unable to overcome depressed commodity markets and their once infatuated support bases began to shrink. While Latin America’s pink tide is not dead, it is struggling to counter those calling for a move back toward neoliberal policies. Ecuador’s election could be yet another indicator that the “pink tide” is on its way out.

Callum Cleary

Callum is an editorial intern at Law Street. He is from Portland OR by way of the United Kingdom. He is a senior at American University double majoring in International Studies and Philosophy with a focus on social justice in Latin America. Contact Callum at Staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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During the current 2016 primary, Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders has been careful to emphasize that (despite some right wing attacks that say otherwise) he’s not a communist or a socialist. However, Sanders and his team are now possibly going to have to take that fight to court. Sanders’ legal team is fighting to stop a man named Daniel McCall and his company Liberty Maniacs from selling t-shirts, coffee cups, and other merchandise emblazoned with the words “Bernie is my comrade.”

The merchandise uses what looks like Sanders’ own campaign logo for “Bernie’s” name. Then, a picture of Sanders is featured along with some of history’s most famous communists and socialists–Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladomir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong.

Bernie Sanders’ Campaign Lawyers Do Not Appreciate Your “Bernie is My Comrade” T-Shirthttps://t.co/ctq5Qedojgpic.twitter.com/vkXrWpxZVW

— ALC (@Arthur59611540) April 19, 2016

‘Bernie is My Comrade’ shirts: Merchant issued cease and desist order by Sanders allies https://t.co/ntA7h4gFTTpic.twitter.com/piCbjuNvqL

— Red Alert Politics (@RedAlert) April 17, 2016

The Sanders campaign sent McCall a cease and desist letter alleging that McCall was infringing on its copyright and trademark; it also demanded that the company destroy or take down the items from the internet. In response, McCall’s lawyer has now accused the campaign of “trademark bullying.” McCall told Buzzfeed news: 

I was surprised Bernie’s campaign would have done that. He didn’t seem to be the type of candidate, the type of guy, who would do something like this. I’m waiting to see what happens, but I would think Bernie, or one of his staff members will step in and put an end to it. It appears to be pretty silly.

His lawyer, Paul Levy also responded to the lawsuit, and made a point about free speech: 

That contention is absurd. You cannot use trademark theories to silence members of the American public who disagree with your client’s views and oppose his candidacy. They can hardly express their views in that respect without identifying the candidacy about which they wish to speak; and it is precisely because the logo is so recognizable that it is an excellent way of specifying which ‘Bernie’ is the subject of commentary.

While its understandable that Sanders’ campaign doesn’t want to be affiliated with some of history’s most reviled dictators, we’ll have to see if the campaign prevails in this copyright fight. 

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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