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WORLD NEWS Saturday 5 auguSt 2017

All-powerful Venezuelan assembly opens amid protests

By JORGE RUEDA at least 120 people dead
Associated Press and hundreds jailed. Mad-
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) uro vows the assembly will
— Defying criticism from strip opposition lawmakers
Washington to the Vatican, of their constitutional im-
Venezuela’s ruling party on munity from prosecution,
Friday installed a new su- while members of congress
per assembly that support- say they will only be re-
ers promise will pacify the moved by force.
country and critics fear will “It doesn’t matter where
be a tool for imposing dic- they meet, they’re install-
tatorship. ing a fraudulent institution,”
The constitutional assem- declared Freddy Guevara,
bly’s first order of business the National Assembly’s
was selecting its head — first vice president, at an
former Foreign Minister Del- opposition demonstration
cy Rodriguez, a loyal fol- in eastern Caracas that
lower of President Nicolas drew only a few hundred
Maduro. protesters, one of the small-
The nomination was ap- est in months.
proved unanimously by An increasing number of
the 545 delegates, who foreign governments have
marched to the neo-clas- sided with the opposition, The President of Venezuela’s Constituent Assembly, Delcy Rodriguez, smiles as she accepts the
sical legislative palace led refusing to recognize the accolades of her fellow assemblymen after their swearing in ceremony, inside Venezuela’s Na-
by socialist party leader constitutional assembly tional Assembly, in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Aug. 4, 2017. Venezuelan President Nicolas Mad-
Diosdado Cabello and first and further isolating Madu- uro is heading toward a showdown with his political foes, after seating a loyalist assembly that will
lady Cilia Flores and ac- ro’s government. rewrite the country’s constitution and hold powers that override all other government branches.
companied by hundreds On Friday, the Vatican (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
of red-shirted government urged Maduro to suspend bly, saying the rules were Washington-based think even representatives of
supporters carrying roses the new body, expressing rigged to further entrench tank Inter-American Dia- Venezuelans with physical
and portraits of the late “deep worry for the radi- Maduro’s “dictatorship.” logue. “To attach the term disabilities. But the agenda
Hugo Chavez, Maduro’s calization and worsening” The results have come un- democracy to Venezuela is expected to be set by
predecessor and mentor. of the turmoil in Venezuela. der mounting scrutiny after with this new constituent bigger-name loyalists, in-
Some shouted, “He’s re- Foreign ministers from sev- the international company assembly is on very weak cluding Maduro’s wife, son
turned!” as a jab at the eral South American na- that provided the elec- ground.” and several ministers who
opposition, which had or- tions said they will gather tronic voting machines said The U.S. State Department resigned their posts to join
dered images of Chavez Saturday in Brazil for an that “without any doubt” said Thursday the assembly the body.
removed from an adja- emergency meeting amid the official turnout had was illegitimate, reiterating Cabello said that in one of
cent building when it won speculation they could de- been tampered with — a a call by Secretary of State its first tasks, the assembly
control of congress in 2015. cide to evict Venezuela charge dismissed by Mad- Rex Tillerson for Maduro to plans to target the oppo-
The assembly was sched- from the Mercosur trade uro and the National Elec- leave office or face un- sition-controlled congress,
uled to meet again Sat- bloc for violating its demo- toral Council. specified actions to “return known as the National
urday, and Rodriguez cratic norms. Venezuela “There has been a gradu- the government processes Assembly, and the chief
pledged it would be taking was suspended from the al erosion of democratic back to the constitution.” prosecutor, Luisa Ortega
action against Maduro’s group in December. practice and this is a sig- The constitutional assembly Diaz, a longtime supporter
political opponents. The opposition boycot- nificant line that has been will be made up an array of Chavez who recently
“Don’t think we’re going ted the July 30 election of crossed,” said Michael of pro-government trade broke with Maduro. q
to wait weeks, months or the constitutional assem- Shifter, president of the unionists, students and Ortega Diaz filed a com-
years,” she said. “Tomor-
row we start to act. The Mexican court forbids imports of US potatoes
violent fascists, those who
wage economic war on
the people, those who MEXICO CITY (AP) — A A group of Mexican po- radiation treatment of im- preserve Mexicans’ collec-
wage psychological war, Mexican federal court has tato growers had sought a ports to prevent diseases. tive rights to “preserve food
justice is coming for you.” made an unusual ruling constitutional injunction on But because federal in- sovereignty and the health
The installation of the all- that bans the import of U.S. the imports, claiming they junctions are intended only of Mexican crop fields.”
powerful constitutional as- potatoes on the grounds threaten to spread agricul- to protect constitutional The agriculture department
sembly is virtually certain the imports violate Mexi- tural diseases. rights, the ruling had to had no immediate com-
to intensify a political cri- cans’ right to food sover- The court said Mexican break some new ground. ment on the ruling.q
sis that has brought four eignty and a healthy envi- agricultural authorities had The court ruled the ban
months of protests that left ronment. failed to use methods like must be implemented to