In May, Maduro described the new assembly as “a citizen’s constituent body” that is not allied with any political party. After telling supporters that he feared a civil war in Venezuela, Maduro said he aimed to “let the sovereign people impose peace, harmony, and true national dialogue” with a new constitution. “Votes or bullets, what do the people want?” Maduro asked the crowd on Tuesday.

Shortly following Maduro’s speech, Venezuela’s democratically elected National Assembly, which is controlled by the opposition party, denounced the new constitution, saying it would worsen the crisis rather than solve it. “Today’s decision is nothing more than an evil announcement meant to divide, distract, and confuse Venezuelans further,” said Julio Borges, the National Assembly’s president. Borges also hinted that Maduro’s decision could spark future protests, saying, “Today we’ve entered a new stage and that means more struggle and more street action.”

Critics view the new constitution as a way for Maduro to usurp the power of the National Assembly and bypass the electoral process. In March, Venezuela’s Supreme Court, which remains loyal to Maduro, annulled the National Assembly, claiming it was in contempt of its rulings. The court later rescinded their takeover in response to public backlash. At the time, many argued that the court sought to authorize Maduro’s oil joint ventures without congressional approval.

According to Maduro’s rivals, Tuesday’s announcement demonstrates more of the same authoritarian behavior, with Maduro attempting to promote his own interests within the government. Others fear that, under a new constitution, Maduro could influence the results of future elections—an offense of which the president has already been accused. In the wake of Tuesday’s announcement, many have drawn parallels to Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez, who constructed a similar assembly in 1999 a mere hours after assuming office. Of the assembly’s 128 seats, 122 were filled by the former president’s allies.

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