Venezuela’s Maduro claims control of country’s last democratic institution

Political turmoil set to worsen as opposition leader blocked from re-election

Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro, moved Sunday to consolidate his grip on power by taking control of the country’s last independent institution and sidelining the lawmaker who had staked a rival claim to the presidency.

As Mr Maduro’s security forces surrounded the National Assembly building, his supporters blocked the re-election of the opposition leader, Juan Guaido, as the body’s head. That deprived Mr Guaido of the position that allowed him challenge to Mr Maduro’s leadership.

By the end of a chaotic day, Venezuela’s political turmoil had somehow found a way to worsen.

The country already had two men who claim to be its rightful president and two rival legislatures. Now, one of the legislative bodies has two competing leaders.

That is because after Mr Maduro backers elected their own man Sunday to lead the National Assembly, Mr Guaido’s supporters gathered at a newspaper’s headquarters, and in a dramatic roll call vote, re-elected him to the leadership position.

The political chaos comes at a time when Venezuelans are facing economic collapse. Hunger is widespread, and millions have been forced to flee the country.

A year ago, Mr Guaido declared himself as head of a caretaker government, just two weeks after being elected head of the assembly. Standing in the streets of Caracas with hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, Mr Guaido asserted that Mr Maduro’s 2018 election was fraudulent.

Invoking an article of the Venezuelan Constitution that transfers power to the head of the assembly if the presidency becomes vacant, he claimed the country’s leadership.

That claim was quickly recognised by dozens of foreign governments, including the US, which backed Mr Guaido’s effort to take power by imposing crippling sanctions on Mr Maduro’s government.

But to maintain his claim the interim presidency, Mr Guaido needed to be re-elected as head of the assembly Sunday, according to analysts inside and outside the country.

Mr Guaido has been one of the only obstacles for Mr Maduro claiming total authority (AFP)

But at the last minute, members of the National Guard prevented Mr Guaido and other supporters from entering the Assembly’s white-walled building.

Inside, Mr Maduro’s party swore in as head of the Assembly a legislator named Luis Parra, a former member of the opposition who turned against Mr Guaido after the Assembly leader opened a corruption claim against him.

The New York Times