Claims of ‘judicial coup’ as the socialist president, Nicolás Maduro, tightens grip on power before lawmakers are sworn in

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Venezuela is braced for a bitter political showdown as the opposition takes control of parliament, pitting the socialist government of President Nicolás Maduro against a coalition of lawmakers who aim to curb his power and try to set the foundering economy back on track.

In the month since the ruling PSUV party suffered a crushing defeat in December’s elections, Maduro has managed to tighten his control and limit the lawmakers’ power.

Both the opposition and the government have called on supporters to demonstrate in central Caracas on Tuesday as the 167 members of the national assembly are sworn in, heightening tensions in the Venezuelan capital.



In a televised address on Monday, Maduro called for a peaceful opening session of the assembly, the first in 16 years under control of the opposition.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Nicolás Maduro has called the new assembly a ‘bourgeois parliament’. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

He said the new assembly would be a “bourgeois parliament” that would seek to overturn the social gains of the “revolution” begun by his charismatic and volatile predecessor Hugo Chávez, who commanded a fervent following even after his death in 2013 from cancer.

Venezuela's opposition won the election – but the real difficulties still lie ahead Read more

A social and economic crisis in Venezuela – which boasts the world’s largest oil reserves but suffers from crippling inflation, widespread shortages and spiralling crime – led voters to punish the PSUV at the polls. With 112 of 167 seats in the assembly, the opposition coalition – known as MUD – won a large enough majority to have the power to remove cabinet members, appoint supreme court judges and even seek to shorten the president’s term.

But a series of measures by the government and outgoing deputies has severely restricted what the new assembly can really achieve.

A presidential decree published on Monday eliminates the national assembly’s control over the naming and removal of central bank directors and allows the bank to keep certain economic data secret. Another government measure allows it to bypass congress for budgetary allocations.

The moves effectively thwart the possibility of the assembly forcing through any economic reforms.

Although the central bank has not published data in more than a year, independent analysts say inflation could be as high as 150% and that the economy may have contracted by 10% last year.

Before relinquishing legislative power, the ruling party deputies also named 13 new justices to the supreme court. Last week the court suspended three opposition deputies and one from the PSUV pending investigations into voting irregularities.

Losing the three seats would leave the opposition short of the super-majority, weakening its position against the government, though it would still maintain control of the assembly.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jesús Torrealba, head of the opposition, has called the suspension of three of its deputies a ‘judicial coup’. Photograph: Fabiola Ferrero/EPA

Calling the court’s move a “judicial coup”, Jesús Torrealba, head of the opposition coalition, said the MUD would defy the court’s ruling and swear in all 112 deputies.

“The people elected 112 and 112 will be sworn in,” said Torrealba.

Veteran politician Henry Ramos Allup, of the Democratic Action party, was elected on Sunday to be the speaker of the assembly, promising to run the legislature fairly. “We are not going to be anti-establishment, but rather an autonomous legislative power,” he said.

Maduro said the pro-government deputies in the assembly would be led by the “Homeland Bloc”. He said: “They will defend the people in the assembly,” working to preserve the gains of “Chavismo”, which while the economy remained afloat, included programmes for housing, healthcare and education for Venezuela’s poor.

The US said on Monday that it was worried about what it called the Venezuelan government’s interference in the assembly.

“We are concerned by the Venezuelan government’s efforts to interfere with the newly elected national assembly exercising its constitutionally mandated duties,” John Kirby, a spokesman for the state department, told reporters.

Maduro criticised the statement as US interference in Venezuelan politics. “What does the state department have to do with the swearing in of the national assembly?” he asked.

Maduro is due to address the new assembly on 10 January, in his annual state of the union speech.