Venezuelan President Maduro Calls for a Constituent Assembly

https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/13097

“During his speech at a massive Bolivarian May Day rally, Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, has announced the convening of a National Constituent Assembly, which he described as a workers’ and communal assembly. The Venezuelan opposition has immediately rejected this as part of the “regime’s coup” and has called for an escalation of protests.

Maduro’s announcement comes after 30 days of almost continuous violent protest by the right-wing opposition in Venezuela (with the backing of Washington) with the aim of overthrowing the government. One of the main leaders of the most radical wing of the opposition, María Corina Machado, openly admitted this in an opinion article in the Ecuadorean paper El Comercio, saying, “there is a growing danger that we miss the essential point. The aim is not to hold elections within the framework of Maduro’s criminal regime. The aim is to put an end to the regime… The first step is to depose the regime”.

The world’s media have, once again, distorted the real situation on the ground in Venezuela. The picture they have painted is one of an authoritarian regime with no support using repression to stay in power against peaceful protesters. The reality is more complicated. First of all, opposition protests have been extremely violent, leading to over 30 people being killed. Just to give two examples: a woman died in Caracas after being hit in the head by a frozen water bottle thrown from a building during a Bolivarian march on April 19th; and two revolutionary worker activists in the regional Bolivarian governorship of Merida were shot on the neck and head a week ago by sharpshooters posted in opposition dominated buildings while they were taking part in a pro-government rally.The Venezuelan section of the IMT marching on May Day…”