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News > Latin America

Venezuela Opposition Calls for Coup, Protests Turn Violent

  • Opposition protesters gang up on and beat police officers in Venezuela

    Opposition protesters gang up on and beat police officers in Venezuela | Photo: teleSUR

Published 18 May 2016
Opinion

The opposition has demanded a referendum to remove President Nicolas Maduro be ensured to force snap elections

Opposition protesters hit the streets of Caracas and other cities across Venezuela—and in some cases attacked police—as part of a national day of action Wednesday to demand that electoral authorities speed up the process of scheduling a recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro.

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Thousands of demonstrators in Caracas gathered on the central Plaza Venezuela with plans to march a few blocks to the nearby National Electoral Council (CNE). Anti-government protesters, who waged a similar protest a week ago, are putting pressure on authorities to move quickly to validate signatures submitted last week to fulfill requirements for a recall referendum.

The opposition is pushing for the recall referendum to happen this year to ensure that removing Maduro from office would result in

Some of the protesters have attacked police officers, who are safeguarding the nearby of the Electoral Council. Caracas Mayor Jorge Rodriguez said protesters also destroyed a library and doused police with gasoline. 

If the recall vote takes place after Jan. 10, 2017, marking four years into Maduro’s six-year term, the country’s top office would be automatically handed over to Vice President Aristobulo Isturiz until the next scheduled election in 2019.

Opponents of Maduro have accused electoral authorities of stalling after they handed in a list of 1.85 million signatures on May 2 in favor of a recall referendum. Maduro said on Tuesday that the recall referendum is “not viable” due to allegedly false signatures on the petition.

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According to the commission overseeing the referendum proposal process, 190,000 of the signatures on the list belonged to deceased people.  

The national mobilization in favor of the recall referendum comes after right-wing leader Henrique Capriles gave a press conference on Tuesday in which he invoked violence and called for the country's armed forces to pick a side.

Prepare the tanks and warplanes,” Capriles said. “The hour of truth is coming to decide whether you are with the constitution or with Maduro,” he added, making an appeal directly to the military.

Later on Tuesday the opposition-led National Assembly rejected Maduro’s emergency decree, which the government argues is aimed at addressing shortages and a severe drought. The decree gives Maduro greater discretion to decide spending priorities and use security forces to maintain public order. Capriles has called for Venezuelans to not recognize the decree, saying that the government will have to impose it “by force” if it wants to implement the measures.

Many expected Wednesday’s protest would turn violent after opposition protests in 2013 against the election of Maduro, including violent street blockades, resulted in the death of 43 people.

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