Venezuela: Tens of thousands join opposition march in Caracas
Protesters blame the socialist policies of the past 17 years for high inflation and rampant crime
Protesters blame the socialist policies of the past 17 years for high inflation and rampant crime

[BBC] – Tens of thousands of demonstrators in Venezuela have been marching through the streets of the capital, Caracas, to call for the removal of President Nicolas Maduro.

They want to put pressure on the electoral authorities to allow a recall referendum this year. The country is in a deep economic crisis which the opposition blames on government mismanagement.

Government supporters are holding a rival march in Caracas. The government accuses the opposition of trying to mount a coup. President Maduro said his administration was well prepared: “If they’re coming with coups, ambushes and political violence, the revolutionary [government] will provide an uncommon and overwhelming response.”

venezuela 3Five hundred police officers will be deployed in the Chacao area of Caracas alone to police the marches. The government said the opposition had failed to attract the one million people they were expecting in their march, which they dubbed the “Takeover of Caracas”.

“The nation has triumphed. They wanted to intimidate the people but the people are here,” said Mr Maduro at a rally in central Caracas. In the run-up to the march, a number of opposition politicians were detained.

Last week, Daniel Ceballos of the opposition Popular Will party was returned to prison after having spent a year under house arrest awaiting trial on charges of rebellion.

The Interior Ministry said he was planning on escaping from house arrest to carry out acts of violence during Thursday’s rally.

Mr Ceballos was one of the politicians arrested in 2014 over violent anti-government protests that swept through Venezuela at the time. Forty-three people on both sides of the political divide where killed during those protests.

Popular Will party activists Carlos Melo and Yon Goicoechea have also been arrested over the past few days, the first suspected of carrying a “detonator cord” and the latter of carrying explosives.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles said he hoped that they could fill the main avenues of Caracas with people protesting peacefully.

Members of indigenous groups came to Caracas to take part in the march and call for a recall referendum
Members of indigenous groups came to Caracas to take part in the march and call for a recall referendum

The opposition hopes the march will pressure the electoral authorities into allowing them to launch the second petition needed to trigger the recall referendum as soon as possible. Timing is key as the date when the referendum is held will determine what happens next.

If a referendum should go against the president before 10 January, new elections will be held, which the opposition hopes to win.

But if it is held after that date and Mr Maduro is recalled, his loyal vice-president will serve out the end of his term until 2019.

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