Venezuela opposition holds vote to defy Maduro

CARACAS: Venezuelans go to the polls yesterday in a vote organised by the opposition aimed at gauging public support for Maduro’s plan to rewrite the constitution, against a backdrop of worsening political violence.

With authorities refusing to greenlight a vote presented as an act of civil disobedience and supporters of President Nicolas Maduro boycotting it, voters seemed set to reject the president’s controversial scheme.

The symbolic “plebiscite” comes two weeks ahead of a Maduro-backed vote to elect a citizens’ body that would revise the constitution. The opposition has told its supporters to stay away.

The cross-purpose initiatives have given rise to international worries – voiced by the Catholic Church and the head of the UN, Antonio Guterres – that the chances of bringing both sides together for dialogue has become more remote.

That, in turn, is stoking fears of more protests and running street battles with police, which have been persistent for the past three and a half months and taken the lives of 100 people.

While Maduro is deeply unpopular – with 80% of Venezuelans criticising his rule, according to the Datanalisis survey firm – he enjoys backing from some, mostly poor, parts of the population and, most importantly, from the army.

Many Venezuelans, though, are less focused on the political powerplay than they are on getting by day by day under the country’s economic crisis, which has meant food and medicine shortages.

One opposition figure, Maria Corina Machado, predicted the vote would “not only reject the Constituent Assembly” – the body Maduro is seeking to have elected to come up with a new constitution – “but will give a mandate for a change of the regime, the end of the dictatorship and the start of a transition with a government of national unity”. – AFP