Venezuela leader sees 'disappearance' of opposition legislature

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

World | Tue May 17, 2016 11:00pm EDT

Venezuela leader sees 'disappearance' of opposition legislature

CARACAS | BY ANDREW CAWTHORNE AND DANIEL KAI

President Nicolas Maduro predicted on Wednesday the imminent demise of Venezuela's opposition-led parliament, amid an acrimonious conflict of powers that is delaying solutions to its economic crisis.

"The National Assembly has lost political validity. It's a matter of time before it disappears," Maduro told reporters.

The 53-year-old socialist leader did not specify further on what could happen to the legislature, although last month he threatened a constitutional amendment to cut its five-year term.

Capitalizing on public anger over the economic mess, the opposition coalition won control of the National Assembly in a December vote and is pushing for a referendum to oust Maduro, the unpopular successor to the late Hugo Chavez.

But ruling Socialist Party officials say there is not time to organize such a vote this year, and the government-leaning Election Board is dragging its feet on paperwork.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-idUSKCN0Y82DV

[Marksman_91]

1. Extremists, whether from right or left, love democracy until it becomes an inconvenience for them

That's what's happening now with Maduro and his lackeys. They know they're no longer liked by the Venezuelan people, and know that any other elections following last December's will be disastrous for them, so they're trying everything they can to keep democratic processes from happening. Today, even the Secretary General of the Organization of American States is calling out Maduro for his recent dictator-like decisions. And now with Brazil and Argentina not being controlled by a hard leftist regime, things are gonna get interesting.