Page 11 - ATODAY
P. 11
WORLD NEWS A11
Thursday 10 December 2015
Venezuela President Maduro vows to fight opposition
HANNAH DREIER if the election went against Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro gestures to supporters in Caracas, Venezuela. Maduro is
Associated Press them. promising to protect the country’s socialist revolution from opposition leaders who will take control
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Those justices could in the- of Congress next month.
— Venezuela’s President ory reverse any legislation
Nicolas Maduro is promis- the new National Assembly (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
ing to protect the country’s approves.
socialist revolution from On Tuesday, National As- what they will do with the marks Tuesday added fuel from office if he refuses to
what he says are “bad sembly president Diosdado National Assembly chan- to fears that the two camps work together to rescue
guy” opposition leaders Cabello announced that nel. will be unable to share the country’s sinking econ-
who will take control of the government would Venezuela has not seen a power. omy, and even some so-
Congress next month. appoint 12 new Supreme divided government since The opposition has said it cialists have called for his
Speaking from the mau- Court judges before the Chavez came to power will use its new legislative resignation in the wake of
soleum of the late Presi- opposition leaders are in 1998, and Maduro’s re- power to remove Maduro Sunday’s loss.q
dent Hugo Chavez Tues- sworn in on Jan. 5.
day night, Maduro said he Cabello also said the Na-
would fight the agenda tional Assembly’s television
of opposition leaders who channel would remain in
won a landslide victory in the hands of the station’s
Sunday’s legislative elec- government workers.
tion. The tiny channel has be-
The embattled socialist come a point of conten-
president stood directly tion because the opposi-
over the marble sarcoph- tion has been almost com-
agus where his mentor’s pletely frozen out of the
body rests, and appealed mainstream media here.
to Chavez for guidance. State television stations,
“Oh how we miss you, including this one, have
Commander; your advice become organs of pro-
and your fighting spirit,” paganda for the socialist
he said. “I hope that the party.
historic project you left to Opposition members now
Venezuela and the world use a YouTube channel to
can continue.” get their announcements
Maduro promised to reject out, and have already
a law backed by opposi- been eagerly planning
tion leaders that would
free imprisoned anti-gov- Wealthy environmentalist Tompkins dies in Chile accident
ernment activists.
That rejection would be EVA VERGARA when their kayaks capsized kins was active in conser- explored for generations to
mostly symbolic, because Associated Press in a lake in the Patagonia vation and environmental- come.”
in Venezuela bills can be- SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) region of southern Chile. ism. He owned hundreds Tompkins was one of the
come law even if the presi- — Douglas Tompkins, a Tompkins died in the inten- of thousands of hectares founders of The North Face,
dent does not approve, so wealthy U.S. businessman sive care unit of the hospital (acres) in Patagonia, a an activewear company
long as the Supreme Court and environmental activ- in Coyhaique, a town 1,700 sparsely populated re- that is now owned by VF
does not find the legisla- ist who bought up large kilometers (1,056 miles) gion of untamed rivers Corp. of Greensboro, North
tion unconstitutional. swaths of land in South south of Santiago. and other natural beauty Carolina. He also found-
Maduro also pledged to America’s Patagonia re- “He had lost conscious- that straddles southern ed, with his wife, the Esprit
shake up his cabinet in the gion with the aim to keep ness and wasn’t breathing” Chile and Argentina. On clothing company.
wake of the opposition’s them pristine, has died. He when brought to the hospi- his Chilean land, he cre- An active outdoorsman,
first national victory since was 72. tal by helicopter, Dr. Carlos ated Pumalin Park, 290,000 besides buying up land to
Chavez initiated the social- Tompkins died Tuesday Salazar told local television hectares (716,606 acres) preserve it, Tompkins also
ist movement in 1998, and from severe hypothermia stations. Chile’s army said of forest, lakes and fjords sometimes got involved in
to hold a summit to exam- in a kayaking accident in strong waves on General stretching from the Andes local environmental issues
ine what went wrong in the Chile, authorities said. Carrerra Lake caused the to the Pacific. “Doug was in Chile and Argentina.
election in which, he said, The Aysen health service group’s kayaks to capsize. a passionate advocate for Many credit him with help-
“the bad guys won.” said Tompkins, who was a A military patrol boat res- the environment,” said The ing to raise consciousness
A group of justices request- co-founder of The North cued three of the boaters North Face in a statement. about the toll that large
ed early retirement in the Face and Esprit clothing and a helicopter lifted out “His legacy of conservation man-made projects, such
run up to the vote, raising companies, was boating the other three, it said. will help ensure that there as dams, can have on
fears that the socialist party with five other foreigners After retiring in 1989, Tomp- are outdoor spaces to be ecosystems.q
would try to pack the court
