The Los Angeles Post

Venezuela’s parliament votes to try President Maduro

by · Published · Updated

Venezuela‘s opposition-led National Assembly has voted to begin impeachment proceedings against President Nicolas Maduro for violating democracy, on the eve of massive protests expected across the embattled nation.

Mr Maduro’s government has dismissed the move as meaningless, and in practice the step is likely to prove purely symbolic.

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But it is yet another sign of the turmoil in Venezuela – a country with the world’s largest oil reserves, and yet a place where queues stretch for hours for basic foodstuffs, and animals in zoos are killed by hungry locals.

On Thursday the National Assembly’s plan to hold a referendum to try and recall Mr Maduro, 53, was blocked by the Supreme Court – which Mr Maduro controls.

With that avenue closed, the opposition coalition has raised the stakes, using its power base in congress to begin legal action against Hugo Chavez’s unpopular successor.

On Sunday supporters of Mr Maduro stormed into the National Assembly as they were discussing how to proceed – with ugly scenes and scuffles inside the building.

On Monday Mr Maduro made a surprise trip to the Vatican, where Pope Francis attempted to reconcile the diametrically opposed factions in Venezuela. Jesus Torrealba, Venezuela’s opposition leader, then announced that talks would be held with the government this weekend, on the island of Margarita off the Venezuelan coast.

Yet the country is bracing itself for further protests on Wednesday, as the opposition rallies its supporters for “The Takeover of Venezuela,” to demand the ouster of Mr Maduro.

“In Venezuela we are battling Satan!” said another opposition leader, Henrique Capriles.

His impeachment is unlikely to proceed through the National Assembly, however.

“Legally, the National Assembly does not exist,” said Aristobulo Isturiz, the  vice-president – referring to Supreme Court rulings that measures in congress are null and void until it removes three politicians linked to vote-buying claims.

The National Assembly ordered Mr Maduro to appear at a session next Tuesday – which he will almost certainly refuse to do – and said it would also consider charges of abandoning his post.

Early career

A former bus driver, Maduro became a trade union leader before being elected to the National Assembly in 2010. He rose through the ranks to become foreign minister in 2006 under Chavez.

Becoming President

Maduro assumed the responsibilities of the president after he died from cancer in 2013.  Maduro narrowly won the election for a new president later in 2013.

His government

Maduro’s government has been the most openly critical of the United States in Latin America. The country’s economy has struggled with low oil prices but critics say government mismanagement has exacerbated the problem. Maduro blamed his 2015 election defeat on an “economic war” by business leaders and other critics who set out to wreck the economy and bring him down.