The Weakening of Democracy in Venezuela: The Afiuni Case

Abstract

This study analyses two speech events where president Chávez informs that he has incarcerated a judge. He demands the maximum penalty, because she has unfulfilled his desire of maintaining a banker in prison. With this incursion into the judiciary, the president weakens the democratic principle of separation of powers (Brewer Carías 2012). I follow Van Dijk (2008) in his notion of context and Shuy’s (2013) forensic linguistics, with an ethnographic base, and descending from the speech event to minor language unities. There are two participants: the executive formed by the president and his companions at the table. A compliant wide auditorium represented by the hearers present in the room—including the President of the Supreme Court of Justice— and the country at large, who receives the message by radio and television. The first has absolute power, shown by the discursive features found in this study. The second is dominated by the first; in fact, the General Attorney of the Republic is not on the podium, but is part of the auditorium. The discursive features show the power of the president, who dominates the rest of the powers. The discourse of the president evidences an authoritative form of government.