Venezuela's Supreme Court said it would take over the opposition-led Congress's role because the legislature is in "contempt", sparking accusations that President Nicolas Maduro's administration is becoming a dictatorship.
Venezuela's Supreme Court said it would take over the opposition-led Congress's role because the legislature is in "contempt", sparking accusations that President Nicolas Maduro's administration is becoming a dictatorship.
The pro-Maduro court has annulled many of the National Assembly's decisions since the opposition won a majority in late 2015 but had stopped short of explicitly stating that it was taking over its functions. Late on Wednesday, however, it did just that when laying out its reasoning in authorising Maduro to create oil joint ventures, overruling the standard legal procedure which requires congressional approval.
"As long as the situation of contempt in the National Assembly continues, this constitutional chamber guarantees congressional functions will be exercised by this chamber or another chosen organ," the court said in a ruling. The contempt charge stems from vote-buying accusations against three lawmakers from southern Amazonas state. Even though they no longer sit in the legislature, the court says parliamentary leaders have not handled their case properly.
Maduro critics say the charges are an excuse for the government to muzzle the opposition during a mounting economic crisis in the oil-rich country. The Democratic Unity opposition coalition slammed the Supreme Court decision, with lawmakers accusing Maduro of acting like a dictator. They drew comparisons with former Peruvian leader Alberto Fujimori's notorious 1992 closure of congress. "This unconstitutional ruling that we reject ... cements another step in the dismantling of Venezuela's democracy," the opposition said in a statement. "This government is dying, and that's why it's turning to these desperate measures."
REGIONAL ANXIETY
The coalition's most hardline party Popular Will called for public rallies and "resistance" against the government, a tactic that has failed in the past despite marches that have drawn hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets around Venezuela. "This is not just another ruling, it marks a point of no return by the dictatorship," its leader Freddy Guevara said.
The Supreme Court measure may actually come as good news for some foreign oil companies, spooked by the opposition's warning that investment deals bypassing Congress would not be valid. As Venezuela tries to raise funds for bond payments and a reeling economy, it has sought to sell stakes in oil fields.
State oil company PDVSA recently offered Russia's Rosen a stake in the Petrolia oil joint venture, sources with knowledge of the proposal told Reuters. The Supreme Court's move against congress has come amid rising regional anxiety over Venezuela's political and economic crisis.
20 members of the 34-nation Organization of American States (OAS) expressed concern this week, although didn't endorse a call by the regional bloc's head, Luis Alvaro, to suspend Venezuela. Maduro says the OAS is a pawn of US "imperialism".
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