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Bloomberg
Venezuela’s opposition-dominated National Assembly is making a concerted effort to unseat autocratic President Nicolas Maduro, invoking constitutional measures that would seat an acting chief executive and offering blanket amnesty to military and government officials who help in bringing down the regime.
In a matter of a week, Venezuela’s beaten down and divided opposition has rallied around a 35-year-old lawmaker, Juan Guaido, who was sworn in as assembly president just two weeks ago. He has spoken publicly about the emergency line
of succession under which he could become the constitutional leader of the crisis-weary nation, but has stopped short of claiming the title.
In a flurry of action, CNN reported that US President Donald Trump is preparing to recognise Guaido as Venezuela’s real leader while Vice President Mike Pence spoke with him to offer support. Guaido, a close ally of political prisoner Leopoldo Lopez, has also spoken with a lawmaker son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. In an opinion piece in the Washington Post, Guaido laid out his argument for why the assembly should form a transition government and call for new elections.
Since Maduro succeeded Hugo Chavez in 2013, the country’s economy has collapsed and it has been ravaged by hyperinflation and hunger.