​Today is the deadline President Nicolás Maduro set for ministries and state companies to dismiss any managers who signed a petition calling for a recall referendum against him. The names of those known to have supported the recall have been distributed to five ministries, including food, basic industries and finance. The opposition, which is pushing to complete the referendum by the end of this year, says some workers have already been sacked. This kind of bullying of state employees is uncomfortably reminiscent of the days of Hugo Chávez, Mr Maduro’s predecessor. In 2004 he sanctioned the publication of a list of 2.4m people who signed a petition calling for a referendum against him; many named on it lost their jobs. But spiralling inflation means a clumsy attempt by an unpopular president to mimic the tactic may not work. Losing a meagre state salary matters far less now than it did under Chávez.