Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has threatened to shut down the conservative opposition-led National Assembly on Tuesday, and the Organization of American States responded to the threat on Wednesday.
A spokesman for Maduro’s government, Didalco Bolívar, stated on Tuesday that the government is currently, “in talks to solicit a meeting with the Supreme Court.” Ultimately, the socialist government wants to “abolish the National Assembly,” which is Venezuela’s equivalent of the U.S. Congress.
National Assembly President Henry Ramos Allup shot back at Maduro with the threat that his National Assembly would rid the high court of 12 justices it claims were illegally appointed to their jobs. Tensions are currently running high in Venezuela in the wake of last week’s condemnation of the country by the Organization of American States (OAS), an international diplomatic organization based in Washington D.C. that is meant to foster cooperation in the Western Hemisphere.
In an interview with news company Agencia EFE, top OAS lawyer Jean Michel Arrighi defended his organization’s bleak assessment of the state of Venezuela’s democracy. As a result of the Venezuelan government’s undemocratic actions, the country may have its OAS membership suspended and thereby be stripped of a major symbol of democratic legitimacy.
Venezuela is on the brink of economic and political collapse, putting it at risk of becoming a failed state. Inflation is expected to hit 720 percent this year in a country that has the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves.
Government spokesman Bolívar has said that the government will make its final decision regarding the fate of the National Assembly at some point this week. The government and the opposition are currently locked in a fight over the validation of ballots for a potential recall election against Maduro, the unpopular successor to Hugo Chavez, who died of cancer in March 2013
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