Venezuelans incensed by president’s new assembly announcement
Demonstrators, who want early elections to replace Nicolás Maduro, block roads in protests; Maduro says the new assembly is to block a ‘fascist coup’
Caracas — Demonstrators blocked roads in Venezuela on Tuesday in renewed protests against President Nicolás Maduro after he announced plans to overhaul the constitution in a bid to quell a deadly political crisis. Far from defusing the crisis, Maduro’s announcement on Monday further incensed the centre right opposition after a month of protests that have left 28 people dead. The opposition is demanding early elections to replace the socialist president. Maduro, instead, said he was invoking his power to create a 500-member constituent assembly representing a "working-class base" and local councils to rewrite the constitution — cutting out the opposition-controlled congress. He said the decree was needed to "block the fascist coup" he said is threatening the country. Maduro regularly portrays Venezuela as the victim of a US-led capitalist conspiracy. The opposition rejected the idea because the body drafting the new charter would not be the result of a popular election but rather be ...
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