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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Idea of taking down Nicolas Maduro gains traction in Venezuela |
| 2015-12-10 |
| [LATINO.FOXNEWS] Just a few days ago, when the opposition in Venezuela could only dream of an electoral victory -- not to say a landslide victory- that would finally give them an audible voice in the National Assembly, a foreign correspondent asked Julio Borges, one of the country's top opposition leaders, if the coalition would seek to remove President Nicolás Maduro from office in that hypothetical case. "Let's not go crazy," he said with a smirk. But then Sunday happened and, 48 hours later, the electoral board confirmed the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) obtained the 112 seats needed to get the supermajority and thus the constitutional power to sack Supreme Court justices, rewrite Hugo Chavez's 1999 constitution -- and, yes, initiate a referendum to revoke Maduro's mandate. Now opposition leaders are discussing the idea openly and with gusto, after 17 years of uninterrupted Chavista rule. The notion of sacking Nicolás Maduro, an unpopular president elected by the narrowest of margins (1.5 percent) is gaining traction in Venezuela. Before the election, polls gave the 53-year-old president a 27 percent approval. The opposition's victory was so resounding that it has caused a crisis within Chavismo, with at least one former Maduro official, Eduardo Samán, publicly blaming the president for Sunday's defeat. On Tuesday Caracas was buzzing with rumors regarding disaffected military leaders, the full cabinet ready to resign and even of political parties that had so far backed Maduro deserting the president. Since his gloomy appearance on Sunday night, Maduro has remained holed up in the Miraflores Presidential Palace in downtown Caracas, reportedly trying to reach out to allies. Meanwhile, ...back at the pond, the radioactive tadpoles grown into frogs. Really big frogs, in fact... many of the opposition heavyweights are saying that said they want presidential elections within a year. "This government is just useless, I think this is a government whose countdown has started today," said Henry Ramos, the longest-serving representative and a staunch opposition leader from Acción Democrática told Fox News Latino. |
| Posted by:Fred |