Juan Pablo Guanipa, vice president of the National Assembly, left, swears in Juan Guaido in Caracas on Jan. 7.
Photographer: Carlos Becerra/Bloomberg
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Tuesday reclaimed the
National Assembly that he heads, pushing past armed guards two days
after President Nicolas Maduro’s loyalists blocked him from attending
his own re-election.
Juan Guaido speaks with a megaphone to the crowd as he attempts to enter the National Assembly in Caracas on Jan. 7, 2020.
Photographer: Carolina Cabral/Getty Images
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After struggle with police, opposition made it into building
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Pro-government faction tried to hold session without quorum
Guaido
and his allies burst through the legislative palace’s doors minutes
after a pro-government group led by lawmaker Luis Parra, who had claimed
the presidency of the body, scurried to a next-door building for
refuge.
Guaido
climbed to the dais and took the microphone as opposition lawmakers
sang the national anthem, which include the words “Death to oppression.”
Lawmakers then voted to recognize Guaido’s re-election as head of the
National Assembly for 2020. They rejected Parra’s attempt to claim the
role thanks to a Sunday vote taken amid chaos in the chamber as Guaido’s
supporters were barred, preventing a quorum.
“It’s a great feat for us to be here today,” Guaido said
Tuesday after reclaiming his place. “This is proof of what’s possible if
we’re firmly united and organized.”
Electricity was cut off at one point, prompting lawmakers to
read the attendance list with the help of mobile phone lights and
without microphones. Outside, armed civilian groups known as colectivos
cornered and forcibly removed a group of journalists and lawmakers,
beating and stealing from some of those gathered.
“The president of the National Assembly is Luis Parra; whoever is with Guaido must leave now,” they shouted.
The attempted takeover of what was Venezuela’s last
democratic institution has deepened the standoff between Maduro and
Guaido, who last year was recognized as the nation’s legitimate leader
by more than 50 countries. The government had yet to comment on Guaido’s
return to the assembly Tuesday.
“The opposition comes out well, in the sense that it managed
to enter its natural space and hold a session,” said Ricardo Sucre, a
political analyst and professor at Venezuela’s Central University. “It
sends an image of a cohesive, organized opposition, that could achieve a
concrete effect.”
Venezuela, a formerly prosperous petrostate, has spiraled
into misery after decades of misrule under Maduro and his predecessor,
Hugo Chavez. The failure of their socialist program has been exacerbated
by a plunge in oil prices and U.S. sanctions. Crucial oil
infrastructure is defunct, hyperinflation has ravaged the economy and
food and medicine are scarce.
Venezuelan opposition lawmakers force their way into the National Assembly in Caracas.
Photographer: Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images
During
Tuesday’s session, Guaido pledged to find a solution to Venezuela’s
crisis “so we can live with dignity and prosperity” and said the next
session would take place Jan. 14. On the way out of the legislative
palace, Guaido and his deputies covered their eyes and mouths as they
were met with tear gas.
At a news conference later in the day, he
demanded that the regime explain why it deployed military personnel to
blockade the assembly building and called for protests and rallies. He
said the opposition would appoint ambassadors to Bolivia, El Salvador
and Uruguay.
Parra, whom the assembly is investigating in
connection with a graft case, claims to have been voted in legitimately
as the new national assembly head on Sunday. The U.S. is considering
sanctioning lawmakers who supported his claim, according to a person
familiar with the deliberations.
Guaido for his part, was confirmed Sunday by 100 lawmakers in an off-site vote after he was barred from entering the chamber.
Supporters of Guaido confront members of the Bolivarian National Guard outside the National Assembly building in Caracas.
Photographer: Carlos Becerra/Bloomberg
“The
opposition lawmakers are putting on a little show,” socialist lawmaker
and former labor minister Francisco Torrealba said Tuesday. “This
confrontation within the right is embarrassing, they’re hitting each
other instead of solving the crisis fueled by U.S. politics.”
— With assistance by Nicolle Yapur, and Nick Wadhams
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