Venezuela 'coup': Alarm grows as court takes power

[NED funded]

WoW, I haven't followed Venezuela for quite a while, but I've never figured shit would go down so fast

Venezuela 'coup': Alarm grows as court takes power

There have been demonstrations in Venezuela after the Supreme Court took over legislative powers from the National Assembly.
Critics say the development takes the country closer to one-man rule under President Nicolas Maduro.
The Organisation of American States (OAS) described the move as the "final blow to democracy in the country".
The ruling effectively dissolves the elected legislature which has been dominated by the president's opponents.
The secretary general of the OAS, Luis Almagro, described the move as a "self-inflicted coup" by Mr Maduro's government.
It comes after months of consolidation of power by the country's president, who is locked in a political struggle with the centre-right opposition.

What has happened?
On Thursday the Venezuelan Supreme Court seized power from the opposition-led legislature, a move that could essentially allow it to write laws itself.
The court justified the move by saying the National Assembly's lawmakers were "in a situation of contempt" after allegations of electoral irregularities by three opposition lawmakers during the 2015 elections.
It did not indicate if or when it might hand power back.
The court had previously backed the leftist president in his struggles with the legislature - on Tuesday removing parliamentary immunity from the Assembly's members.
The move is the latest example of the socialist President Maduro tightening his grip on power, which critics say he has been doing for months, amid a deepening economic crisis in the country.
The National Assembly's lawmakers were pictured scuffling with members of the National Guard while protesting outside the court on Thursday.
The Speaker of Venezuela's National Assembly, Julio Borges, addressed the media outside the legislative palace in Caracas.
He urged the army, which has so far supported the president, to take a stand against him.
In a tweet, jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez called on people to take to the streets in order to "reject dictatorship and rescue democracy".

What has the reaction been?
The crisis has raised international alarm about the stability of Venezuelan demo, which has undergone three attempted military coups since 1992.
The US state department called the court's move "a serious setback for democracy."
Most regional powers including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru and Chile have warned that the action is a threat to Venezuelan democracy.
Leftist-led Bolivia defended President Maduro, who has yet to comment publicly.
Venezuela's foreign ministry accused critics of the government of forming a right-wing regional pact against President Maduro.
Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez described the OAS is a pawn of US "imperialism".

Why is Venezuela in crisis?
Tensions have been high in Venezuela because the country has been engulfed by a severe economic crisis.
It has the world's highest inflation rate, and the International Monetary Fund predicts it could reach 1,660% next year.
What is behind the turmoil?
Venezuela: Country profile
The government and opposition blame each other for the country's economic problems.
President Maduro has become increasingly unpopular, and the opposition has called for his removal from office and fresh elections.

[Machismo]

Venezuela is a failed state. The sooner they start to realize this, the faster they can proceed to recover. So long as Maduro is in power, they will continue to fail.

[stabetha]

The government and opposition blame each other for the country's economic problems

sounds familiar

[Deleted]

That a court would seize power I never expected. How does the Constitution even allow for this?

[Logwyn]

That a court would seize power I never expected. How does the Constitution even allow for this?

I' surprised I haven't heard some war hawk in the USA say how we should go and save them from themselves.. After all the Oil down there needs to be protected!

[Deleted]

That a court would seize power I never expected. How does the Constitution even allow for this?

As far as I know it doesn't, which is why it's called a coup. Plus they stripped the opposition's politicians from their immunity, so now they can just send them to jail for... being the opposition I guess.

Edit: Which is kind of laughable in itself, because the "opposition" has had the majority in the parliament for quite some time, but the Prime Minister (I don't know what his correct title would be in english) ruled on his own, without parliament.

[Exeris]

The supreme court are breaking the law(s) here right, so why aren't the police rounding them up?

"The court justified the move by saying the National Assembly's lawmakers were "in a situation of contempt" after allegations of electoral irregularities by three opposition lawmakers during the 2015 elections."

How is this a valid excuse?

No I don't know much about Venezuela.

[zenkai]

I remember when Venezuela was a model of socialism by the left, and look at it crumble.

[Machismo]

I remember when Venezuela was a model of socialism by the left, and look at it crumble.

It was a terrible model, since it did not have a diverse economy. There are far better models for socialism... including the United States and Western Europe.

[Breccia]

The supreme court are breaking the law(s) here right, so why aren't the police rounding them up?

They know which way the wind's blowing and don't want to go down with the ship?

Interesting news about the country, though. Kinda drowned out here in the USA for ironic reasons.

[Independent voter]

So they no longer have a legislative congress? Does this mean Maduro can issue any law he wants to issue now?

Venezuela had one of the most violent revolutions ever at one time, babies stuck on the ends of lances kind of violent. Let's hope things get better there soon.

[Mgann-Morzz]

people here and elsewhere whenever Venezuela is brought up try and turn it into a left-right thing "HA SOCIALISM IS A FAILURE" when what it should really be is an INCOMPETENCE thing, a warning as to what can happen when you refuse to diversify your economy during a boom of some comodity you have in abundence, just assuming that boom will be everlasting. It never is and an economy totally dependent on a single industry will inevitably collapse, no matter the system of government or economics.

[Symphonic]

I like Venezuela. A lot of south american countries have issues of corruption, at least, more visible to its citizens compared to, say, the United States. Even though there is corruption here, too, it's more manageable and people are typically punished.

I hope the people who live there will be able to survive. Here is a tweet showing newborn babies sleeping in cardboard boxes https://twitter.com/manuelferreiraG/...ardboard-boxes

[Z-Man]

The supreme court are breaking the law(s) here right, so why aren't the police rounding them up?

The Supreme Court decides if any laws are being broken, so all of this is (literally) legal. The police and the army are still getting paid enough to go along with it, plus they get the chance to arrest some liberals (bonus!).

(Venezuela has half again the population of Syria. We're going to see an epic refugee event when the mic drops down there.)

[Deleted]

First a coup against Chavez n now against Maduro..US should stop trying to topple countries n make shit more unstable...