Hundreds of Chavistas surrounded Venezuela's National Assembly chanting "Traitors!", "Usurpers!", "Imperialists!", as opposition lawmakers approved an agreement against what they call "the rupture of the constitutional order and the permanence of a coup in Venezuela."
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Socialist Party legislator Hector Rodriguez addressed the opposition-led assembly and spoke on behalf of the government, saying the opposition lawmakers were responsible for undermining the country's institutions.
"You (the opposition) are the ones violating the constitution and trying to mount a parliamentary coup: like when you tried to convene a political trial and decreed the abandonment of duties against the president," Rodriguez said, referring to the assembly's attempt to declare that President Nicolas Maduro had abandoned his post.
The National Assembly declaration calls for "the return of legislative powers, the release of political prisoners, the holding of general elections and the denunciation of irregularities against the deputies to seek criminal action against the agencies involved."
The four corners outside the National Assembly building were held by several social groups, all giving their two cents on the happenings within the building, on the connection to the bids by the Organization of American States to invoke the Inter-American Democratic Charter, and on the international interference to subvert Venezuelan democracy.
Meters away from the National Assembly in Plaza Bolivar, Socialist lawmakers addressed a rapidly-growing crowd, all supporting the government's initiatives to deal with the threats posed by the opposition and the OAS.
"Can these deputies promise shorter lines at the supermarket?" asked Socialist assembly member, Tania Diaz. "Can they promise justice for those who need it? Can they promise a solution to the economic war we face, or are they a part of it?"
Meanwhile, at the OAS office in Washington, Venezuela's Foreign Affairs Minister, Delcy Rodriguez, requested that the organization's permanent council evaluate the behavior of its Secretary-General Luis Almagro, as well as the violation of the OAS' internal rules in convening an extraordinary meeting Monday despite the objection of council president nation, Bolivia.
"If he really wanted to help Venezuela, the first thing he should have done was to ask the government: how can one help in accordance with the mechanisms that exist in international law," the Venezuelan diplomat stated.
Rodriguez also accused the OAS of committing "legal fraud" against the country given the organization sought to initiate action against a country "that had not given its consent," as well as "procedural fraud" due to the way in which the motion was carried through.