By Luis
Manuel Aguana
It is truly difficult to find a situation in the annals of world history similar to the one Venezuela is currently experiencing. Certainly, parts of this situation have existed in other regions of the world, such as armed irregular groups controlling parts of the territory, drug traffickers doing business in the country and exporting drugs, corrupt officials at all levels of the state administration, to name just a few examples, but never has its high government been labeled as terrorist and owner of the drug trafficking business, and even less so has it been militarily besieged by the most powerful country in the world.
To have all these plagues converge in one place is truly unusual, and of course in such a country, today's Venezuela, it would be impossible for any institutions to function, as they would in even the smallest nation on the planet.
Things would work, as I heard recently, in fact, but not in law. And that caught my attention because, as we will see later, this is of paramount importance for what will happen in the country. But, in plain language, what does a situation in fact mean as opposed to one in law? It seems unbelievable, but we are surrounded by these conflicting situations in our daily lives. I asked an AI to give me five examples for this explanation:
“1. The traffic accident
FACT: Two vehicles collide at an
intersection. One driver ran a red light and hit another vehicle that was
crossing on a green light.
LAW: Traffic law establishes that whoever doesn't respect the traffic light is responsible. The offending driver must compensate for damages according to civil code and may receive an administrative fine.
2. Shopping at the
supermarket
FACT: A person takes products from the
shelves, brings them to the cashier, pays with their card, and leaves with the
merchandise.
LAW: A sales contract has been perfected. The supermarket transfers ownership of the goods in exchange for a price, with all applicable consumer legal guarantees.
3. Marriage
FACT: Two people maintain a romantic
relationship, live together, share expenses and life projects.
LAW: If they marry before a competent authority, a legal bond is created with rights and obligations: property regime, inheritance rights, alimony obligations, presumption of paternity, etc.
4. The tenant who doesn't
pay
FACT: A person inhabits a dwelling for three
months without paying the agreed rent to the owner.
LAW: There is a breach of the lease contract that authorizes the owner to demand payment through judicial process and, eventually, request eviction.
5. The birth of a baby
FACT: A woman gives birth to a baby in a
hospital.
LAW: From that moment, the newborn acquires legal personality, becomes a subject of rights (name, nationality, filiation, inheritance), and their parents acquire parental authority with the obligations of care, food, and education that the law establishes.
“In summary: The fact is the material event that occurs in reality, while the law consists of the legal consequences, rights, and obligations that the law attributes to that fact.” (see Claude.ai, in https://claude.ai/share/6712f4aa-d75f-4e56-9d7d-eccc4af86b0f) (highlighted ours).
In every action we take or situation we find ourselves in, no matter how insignificant it may seem, there is a rule behind it that stems from the unwritten contract that every person has to live in society. And if it is not taken into account and ignored, there are consequences. This in no way means that a situation CANNOT be prolonged indefinitely. The point here is the consequences of it not being accompanied by the corresponding legal situation. That is why the natural form of democratic societies is to live in a state of law.
To complicate matters further, my second question to the AI was how long a de facto situation can be sustained without the legal situation being resolved. And the answer turns out to depend on each case:
Cases where the factual
situation CAN be sustained for extended periods:
1. When there's no interest
in formalizing it
Common-law couples who don't need to marry
Verbal agreements between neighbors that function without contracts
2. When the law recognizes
prolonged facts
Adverse possession (usucapion): Occupying
land de facto for years can become legal ownership.
Common-law unions: Some legislations
recognize rights after a certain period of cohabitation.
Legal custom: Repeated governmental practices can become customary law.
3. When there's
institutional weakness
De facto
governments in countries with political instability
Illegal constructions that authorities don't sanction for years” (see Claude.ai, at the address indicated above.) (highlighted ours).
What an interesting answer, especially the last point: “De facto governments in countries with political instability” when there is institutional weakness. There is no doubt that Venezuela falls into this category.
An attempt was made, through a presidential election process, to end the DE FACTO situation (the de facto government) on July 28, 2024, by participating in “negotiated” elections that ultimately failed to resolve the situation. But something extraordinary happened that day: a new situation arose. Despite the regime's refusal to recognize the election results, Venezuelans elected a DE FACTO president for Venezuela, but not a DE JURE one.
And why is Edmundo González Urrutia (EGU) a DE FACTO president? Because even though 67.1% of the valid votes cast by citizens gave him the election, as verified by the election records collected and deposited at the Central Bank of Panama, no part of the Venezuelan institutional system had (nor does it still have) the legitimacy to make him a DE JURE president, including the CNE, the National Assembly, and the TSJ.
In other words, even if the regime had allowed him to run for office, the entire institutional structure of the Venezuelan state was (and still is) completely rotten, lacking any legitimacy. EGU and his supporters would not have been able to govern without first resolving the institutional situation of the state, which is why ANCO always suggested that, if they had reached Miraflores, they should convene the owner of sovereignty as their first act of government to correct that situation.
So much so is EGU's presidential status that in the recent declaration of the 10th Presidential Dialogue of the IDEA Group, held in Miami, FL, USA, the first point states: “We formally recognize Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in fact and in law” (see in Spanish Grupo IDEA, DECLARACIÓN DE MIAMI SOBRE EL RECONOCIMIENTO AL LEGÍTIMO PRESIDENTE DE LA REPÚBLICA DE VENEZUELA Y A SU VICEPRESIDENTA, in https://tinyurl.com/bddv935s) (highlighted ours).
The AI's conclusion to this whole exercise is straightforward:
“Conclusion:
The tension between fact and law is constant. While some facts can be maintained for a long time without legal consequences, law tends to eventually catch up with facts through:
Oversight and control (audits, inspections)
Action by affected third parties (lawsuits,
complaints)
Forced regularization (the system itself
demands formalization)
Legal recognition of fact (when law adapts to social reality)
In governmental exercise, the situation is more critical: a government that sustains factual situations without legal backing erodes the Rule of Law and eventually faces legitimacy crises, judicial review, or even international sanctions” (see Claude.ai, at the address indicated above.) (highlighted ours).
Nothing could be closer to the reality in Venezuela: the disappearance of the rule of law, a major crisis of legitimacy, and international sanctions. The phrase “the law tends to catch up with the facts” is a reality, and no matter how much one tries to prolong or deny the situation that ACTUALLY occurred on July 28, 2024, it will eventually prevail.
However, very little will have been achieved if this comes to pass without the necessary context of legitimacy, so that this DE FACTO presidency can become a DE JURE presidency. And this is the real substance of ANCO's most recent communiqué: “Proposal for a Peaceful, Democratic, and Constitutional Solution to the Political and Structural Crisis in Venezuela” (see in Spanish Comunicado ANCO 17-11-2028, en https://ancoficial.blogspot.com/2025/11/comunicado-anco-propuesta-para-una.html).
In other words, if we are to soon enter a new cycle—this time a virtuous one—in the life of the country, we must do so by starting at the beginning: allowing the people, in the exercise of their full sovereignty, to decide to translate the DE FACTO situations of 26 years of continuous tragedy into an exercise of DE JURE. That is the only thing that can guarantee Venezuelans a clean and clear return to democracy and freedom for new generations.
Caracas, November 18, 2025
Blog:
TIC’s & Derechos Humanos, https://ticsddhh.blogspot.com/
Email: luismanuel.aguana@gmail.com
Twitter:@laguana
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