Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Monday 17 July 2017

Woman killed, 3 wounded as tensions rise with Venezuela vote

By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN spread shortages and anti- pro-government paramili-
and FABIOLA SANCHEZ government protests. tary groups had attacked
Associated Press At least one person was voters outside the Our Lady
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) killed and three wounded of Carmen Church around
— Hundreds of thousands in shooting that erupted af- 3 p.m. The chief prosecu-
of Venezuelans lined up ter government supporters tor’s office said a woman
across the country and in on motorcycles swarmed had been killed and three
expatriate communities an opposition polling site wounded in the incident.
around the world Sunday in a church in the tradition- The office provided her
to vote in a symbolic rejec- ally pro-government Catia name, Xiomara Escot, but
tion of President Nicolas neighborhood of western gave no other details.
Maduro’s plan to rewrite Caracas. Video posted to social
the constitution, a proposal The opposition mayor of media showed massive
that’s raising tensions in a the Caracas borough of crowds outside the church,
nation battered by wide- Sucre, Carlos Ocariz, said then hundreds of people

People fill the voters’ registry prior to casting their ballots at a
poll station during a symbolic referendum in Caracas, Venezu-
ela, Sunday, July 16, 2017.
Associated Press

running in panic outside will be measured by how
the church as motorcycle- many millions participate.
riding men zoomed past Democratic Unity, a coali-
and shots rang out. tion of some 20 opposition
Maduro made no men- parties, has printed 14 mil-
tion of the incident in com- lion ballots for voters inside
ments on state television and outside the country
shortly after the official of 31 million people. Few
close of opposition polls expect turnout that high
at 4 p.m., but he called for but analysts say participa-
an end to violence that he tion by more than 8 million
blamed on the opposition. people would significantly
“I’m calling on the opposi- hike pressure on the gov-
tion to return to peace, to ernment. Participation ap-
respect for the constitu- peared to be high, with
tion, to sit and talk,” Mad- large crowds of people lin-
uro said. “Let’s start a new ing up at tables in churches
round of talks, of dialogue and parks across the capi-
for peace.” tal. “Since we opened at
In what appeared to be 7 a.m. the line hasn’t let
smaller numbers in many up,” said Pedro Garcia, or-
parts of the capital, gov- ganizer of a voting station
ernment supporters went filled with hundreds of peo-
to polling stations in a re- ple in the south Caracas
hearsal for a July 30 vote to neighborhood of El Valle, a
elect members of the as- stronghold of government
sembly that will retool Ven- support that has been
ezuela’s 1999 constitution. weakening in recent years.
The opposition says that Juan Madriz, a 45-year-old
vote has been structured insurance company em-
to pack the constitutional ployee, said he didn’t ob-
assembly with government ject to rewriting the consti-
supporters and allow Mad- tution per se, but rejected
uro to eliminate the few Maduro’s decision to do so
remaining checks on his without putting that deci-
power, creating a Cuba- sion to a vote, as his prede-
style system dominated by cessor Hugo Chavez did.
his socialist party. “If they’re forcing us, it
The success of the opposi- isn’t democracy,” Madriz
tion’s symbolic referendum said.q