A Venezuelan opposition deputy holds up a sing reading “Maduro dictator" during an extraoridinary session of the National Assembly, in Caracas on October 23, 2016. (Federico Parra/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s opposition-led National Assembly in a rowdy session on Sunday vowed to put Nicolás Maduro on trial for violating democracy, days after authorities nixed a referendum to recall the unpopular leftist president.
The measure is unlikely to get any traction given that the government and a compliant Supreme Court have systematically undermined the legislature, but it marked a further escalation of political tensions in the crisis-hit nation, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
“It is a political and legal trial against President Nicolás Maduro to see what responsibility he has in the constitutional rupture that has broken democracy, human rights, and the future of the country,” opposition majority leader Julio Borges said during a special congressional meeting.
The session was briefly interrupted when about 100 apparently pro-government protesters stormed in, brandishing Socialist Party signs and shouting slogans before officials herded them out.
The opposition coalition, seeking to end 17 years of socialism in the South American nation, says Thursday’s suspension of its drive for a plebiscite against Maduro shows that Venezuela has abandoned democracy.
Ruling-party officials accuse the opposition of fraud in their signature drive and say the coalition is seeking a coup to gain control of Venezuela’s vast crude reserves, the world’s largest.
Despite that oil wealth, Venezuela has plunged into an unprecedented economic crisis, with many people skipping meals because of shortages and soaring prices.
Many Venezuelans fear preventing the referendum increases chances of social unrest in the already volatile and violent country.
The opposition coalition has called for a major peaceful protest on Wednesday, dubbed “The takeover of Venezuela.”
In Sunday’s raucous session, lawmakers also traded barbs, with ruling-party politicians showing photos of late leader Hugo Chávez while opposition congressmen chanted “The people are hungry and want a recall!”
Likening Maduro to former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and Peru’s authoritarian ex-president Alberto Fujimori, opposition lawmakers also vowed to replace deans at the electoral council and judges on the Supreme Court, though that, too, is unlikely to see the light of day.
Maduro, a former bus driver and union leader, is on a four-day foreign trip to seek consensus on supporting oil prices. He has seen his popularity tumble as the recession has worsened three years after the death of his mentor Chávez.
Even former ‘Chavista’ strongholds in the slums have turned against Maduro, and the opposition frequently claims discontent runs deep among some in the top brass.
