Support for Venezuela’s dictator Nicolas Maduro is dwindling as a pro-government rally failed to fill the stands outside the Miraflores presidential palace, El Nacional reports.
“Just 8 percent support the fraudulent constitution of [Nicolas] Maduro. This image speaks for itself, they can barely fill the stands of the Miraflores patio,” wrote opposition politician Tomás Guanipa on Twitter.
The accompanying image shows rows of empty seats at a recent pro-government rally held by Maduro outside the Miraflores presidential palace.
On Wednesday, Maduro confirmed he would push ahead with the formation of a “constituent assembly” that involves drafting a new constitution, which opponents fear could undermine future elections and increase his executive authority.
While some leaders would continue to be elected at a local level, the reforms would allow the government to appoint leaders to its Assembly, such as students, workers, farmers, pensioners, and indigenous people.
National Assembly leader Julio Borges of the center-right Justice First party described the reforms as “nothing more than an evil announcement meant to divide, distract, and confuse Venezuelans further.” The party’s co-founder Henrique Capriles Radonski, who was recently banned from politics for 10 years, called on the opposition to enact article 350 of the Venezuelan constitution that ensures fully elected local and federal governments.
The government has also banned Capriles, who ran against both Maduro and Hugo Chávez in presidential races, from leaving the country, the governor of Miranda has said.
The country marked its 50th day of protests on Monday, as citizens across Venezuela took to the streets en masse to call for early elections and an end to the military violence that has claimed the lives of 47 anti-government protesters. An estimated 160,000 people took to the streets of Caracas, while 40,000 congregated in the western state of Tachira.
On Monday, protesters burnt down the childhood home of the country’s late socialist leader Hugo Chávez in Barinas state and threw Molotov cocktails at government buildings following the news that yet another protester had been killed by the military.
The situation in Venezuela has attracted international attention. In a bilateral press conference with Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos, President Donald Trump described the situation in Venezuela as a “disgrace to humanity.”
“We haven’t really seen a problem like that… in decades, in terms of the kind of violence that we’re witnessing,” Trump said. “People don’t have enough to eat. There’s great violence. We will do whatever is necessary… to help with fixing that. What is happening is really a disgrace to humanity.”
Maduro has since responded to the comments, accusing Trump of a “conspiracy” to overthrow his government and demanded Trump not interfere in the country’s affairs.
In a hostile speech on national television, Maduro declared: “I tried to seek dialogue but, lamentably, the Venezuelan opposition is subservient to the mandate of Donald Trump, the commander in chief of the opposition, who took off his mask attacking our country this week.”
“I reject and repudiate Donald Trump’s statements against the dignity of the Venezuelan nation,” Maduro continued. “Get your dirty hands out of here, Donald Trump! Enough with imperialist intervention!”
You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.
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