Maduro orders ministers to resign after election loss
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has ordered his ministers to resign so he can reshuffle the cabinet after his ruling party was trounced in parliamentary polls.
The Venezuelan head of state issued the order on Tuesday, three days after the elections gave the Venezuelan Democratic Unity opposition coalition, known as MUD by its Spanish name, 112 of the 167 seats in the National Assembly.
Composed of centrist, center-left, left-wing, and some center-right political parties, the coalition was formed in January 2008 to unify the politicians siding against then President Hugo Chavez’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela.
The Saturday electoral victory ended the Socialists’ 16-year control of the parliament, which had begun when Chavez came to power.
The parliamentary majority now renders the opposition capable of calling a referendum, launching constitutional reforms, replacing senior judges, and even taking measures aimed at unseating Maduro.
“That is not our priority,” MUD leader Jesus Torrealba has, however, said, adding, “Our priority is national reconciliation and secondly dealing with the economic and social emergency in this country.”
In that context, the opposition has vowed to secure the release of jailed politicians, most notably opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who was imprisoned for leading anti-government protests in 2014. The demonstrations triggered violence that year, leading to more than 40 deaths.
Observers have foreseen a tough political struggle with Maduro having said that he would veto the opposition’s plan for an amnesty law for the inmates.
“I will not accept any amnesty law, because they violated human rights,” the Venezuelan president has asserted, adding, “They can send me a thousand laws but the murderers have to be prosecuted and have to pay.”
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