Venezuela socialists take control of congress, thumb noses at democratic opposition, U.S.
CARACAS, Venezuela — Parading giant portraits of Hugo Chávez and independence hero Simón Bolívar, allies of President Nicolás Maduro retook control of Venezuela’s congress Tuesday, the last institution in the country it didn’t already control.
The symbolic restoring of the images to Venezuela’s parliament capped a celebratory day for the ruling socialist party in which they claimed to have avenged the humiliating defeat five years ago when government opponents won control of the legislature and proceeded to remove portraits of the two national icons in a fierce — if futile — challenge to Maduro’s lock on power.
Jorge Rodríguez, the incoming assembly president, vowed to “exorcise” from the legislative palace all vestiges of its previous occupants, whom he accused of plotting Maduro’s violent overthrow with the help of foreign mercenaries and the Trump administration.
“Just so there are no doubts, pretty soon we’ll spray every corner of the parliamentary chambers with holy water,” joked Rodríguez, who was previously led internationally sponsored talks with the opposition as well as met with envoys fromthe Trump administration.
Maduro’s allies swept legislative elections last month boycotted by the opposition and denounced as a sham by the U.S., the European Union and several other foreign governments. While the vote was marred by anemically low turnout, it nonetheless seemed to relegate into irrelevancy the U.S.-backed opposition led by lawmaker Juan Guaidó.
Guaidó held his own virtual parliamentary session Tuesday, via Zoom, with a cohort of opposition leaders.
“They are trying to annihilate Venezuela’s democratic force,” Guaidó said in his online address. “But we aren’t going to give up.”
The Trump administration from doubled down in its support of Guaidó.
“We consider this group to be illegitimate and will not recognize it nor its pronouncements,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday, referring to the pro-Maduro assembly. “President Guaidó and the National Assembly are the only democratic representatives of the Venezuelan people as recognized by the international community, and they should be freed from Maduro’s harassment, threats, persecution and other abuses.”
The opposition’s political fortunes have tanked as Venezuelans own hopes for change have collapsed. Recent opinion polls say support for Guaidó has fallen by more than half since he first rose to challenge Maduro two years ago.