Venezuela readies for controversial Constituent Assembly as divisions in society deepen

Record ID: 904331

  • Title: Venezuela readies for controversial Constituent Assembly as divisions in society deepen
  • Date: 27th July 2017
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) VENEZUELAN POLITICAL ANALYST OSWALDO RAMIREZ SAYING: "And, I [Ramirez is speaking here as President Maduro] on the other hand need people to eliminate people or institutions that are uncomfortable: the chief prosecutor, the national congress, (I need) Chavist governors who say you don't have any power here. There's a clear reality here that leads you to a sort of future constitution, without having that constitution drafted, of a totally parallel state." MURAL ON SIDE OF ROAD READING, “THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY GOES FORWARD" A POSTER ON THE SIDE OF A ROAD READING, "I CHOOSE MY CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY" CLOSE UP OF POSTER READING, "I CHOOSE MY CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY" CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY SUPPORTERS ON AN URBAN STREET CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY SUPPORTER SPEAKING TO A WOMAN ABOUT THE ASSEMBLY (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT OF CARACAS, CELIA MAXWELL SAYING: "The citizens of a country should decide their own destiny, not a person who is a congressman or congresswoman and decides for a whole population. So, this is a very beautiful and interesting change and the ones responsible will be the majority who votes for the constituent assembly." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING THE STREETS OF CARACAS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT OF CARACAS, JOSE FERNANDEZ SAYING: "The way out is to hold free elections; 90 to 95 per cent of Venezuelans don't like Nicolas Maduro in the Presidency of the Republic, and of course the best way out would be to renounce this, even withdraw this famous constituent assembly." SIGNS ON A STREET THAT READ, "NO TO THE CHIMBA (THE OPPOSITION'S TERM FOR THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY)" CLOSE UP OF SIGN THAT READS, "NO TO THE CHIMBA (THE OPPOSITION'S TERM FOR THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY)" BILLBOARD ON A STREET FROM OPPOSITION FIGURES THAT READS, "THAT CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY DOESN'T GO" CLOSE UP OF BILLBOARD FROM OPPOSITION FIGURES THAT READS, "THAT CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY DOESN'T GO"
  • Embargoed: 10th August 2017 18:55
  • Keywords: Venezuela Constituent Assembly Nicolas Maduro Henrique Capriles vote
  • Location: CARACAS, VENEZUELA
  • City: CARACAS, VENEZUELA
  • Country: Venezuela
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0066RHU9FR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A vote will be held this Sunday (July 30) in Venezuela to choose members of a Constituent Assembly that will have power to rewrite the constitution and override the current opposition-led legislature. Government officials and candidates for the Constituent Assembly were winding up campaigning on Thursday (July 27), with a rally planned for Caracas later in the day to be attended by President Nicolas Maduro. Voters will choose 364 constitutional representatives distributed across municipalities and state capitals and another 181 "sectoral" candidates from demographic groups ranging from students to farmers and fisherman.
    Opposition figures say the ruling Socialist Party wants to consolidate dictatorship with a sham vote for a super-congress that will have the power to rewrite the constitution and shut down the existing opposition-led legislature. The opposition Democratic Unity coalition say the use of sectoral candidates, who had to collect signatures and file them to the government-leaning elections council, was a way to weed out anti-government aspirants. Opposition leader Henrique Capriles said the objective of the Maduro administration is clear - that he wants "to have a proceeding that can dismiss the state prosecutor, that can close the national congress, that can remove a mayor, that can remove a governor, or any other thing."
    And political analyst Oswaldo Ramirez said that Maduro's aim is "to eliminate people or institutions that are uncomfortable." He specified chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega and the opposition-led National Assembly.
    Maduro has vowed to push ahead with Sunday's vote and says it will bring peace to Venezuela after four months of anti-government protests in which more than 100 people have been killed. At least 106 people have died in total during anti-government unrest convulsing the South American OPEC nation since the opposition launched protests in April demanding elections to end nearly two decades of socialist rule. Many streets around Venezuela remained barricaded and deserted today (July 27) during the second day of an opposition-led shutdown.
    The international community has broadly condemned the vote, and the United States on Wednesday announced sanctions against 13 current and former officials for corruption, undermining democracy, and participating in repression.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register