Venezuelan bishops call for free elections and new Supreme Tribunal members

Venezuela's Catholic bishops demanded a rapid democratization of the country as they closed their latest plenary assembly. The assembly was held days after María Corina Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and a leading opposition figure, returned from almost a year in exile. The bishops' conference called for free and transparent elections.

The statement issued at the end of the assembly criticized the absence of stable institutions and restrictions on democratic guarantees. The bishops demanded that the Constitution be restored to full force, and said that doing so requires a change in the membership of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, the country's highest court.

Judicial independence and political guarantees

That court must act with political independence to guarantee due process, the annulment of removals from office and effective respect for the political rights of all citizens, the bishops said. The statement also called for the repeal of laws that restrict the work of nongovernmental organizations, which it said must be able to operate without obstacles, particularly to assist people affected by the recent earthquakes in the country.

Humanitarian crisis: poverty, blackouts and repression

The same document criticized the growing impoverishment of the population, human rights violations, the loss of purchasing power and frequent cuts in the electricity supply. The bishops appealed to figures in politics, business and civil society to help "overcome the dynamic of polarization."

Signs of hope amid the crisis

The text does not stop at criticism. The bishops also listed what they called "signs of hope": the release of political prisoners, greater freedom of expression and the solidarity Venezuelan society has shown after the most recent earthquakes.