Venezuela's ANC Closes its Historic Mandate

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro participated in the Special Session of the Plenipotentiary National Constituent Assembly on Friday, at the closing of its mandate.

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The President thanked the 545 lawmakers for the work they have carried out in the country during these "hard-hitting" times. Likewise, the he recalled the historic conditions which forced the government to activate the constitutional power in 2017.

The National Constituent Assembly was established in August 2017 by order of the Venezuelan Supreme Court amidst an constitutional crisis, as opposition figures spearheaded violence in the streets of Caracas, while appealing for European Union and Washington's support to promote political instability in the country.

"We have not been in the face of a democratic opposition, we have not been in the face of individuals who are assuming [actual] political leadership," the President explained.

The Constitutional Assembly approved an agreement to pay tribute to former Vice-President José Vicente Rangel who passed away on Friday. "He was an extraordinary citizen," he stressed.

"They asked me if the revolution was over and I told them it was never over. We are in a difficult situation, but we will return to the path of victory, of political recovery. We had the political, legal, institutional reason, and we must always have confidence in the people's power," the President pledged. The Gran Polo Patriótico government coalition won the December 6 parliamentary elections to form a new National Assembly which will legislate beginning on January 5, 2021.