Opposition, socialist supporters face off in Caracas

One police officer was shot dead during the protests, with dozens of activists injured and at least 80 detained nationwide.

Opposition politicians and student leaders said there were protesters struck by bullets in Merida and San Cristobal as well as Venezuela’s second-largest city Maracaibo. “He died when being treated in the clinic of Los Salias”, Miguel Mederico, spokesman for the Miranda police, said in a statement.

People protest against Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016.

In recent days, the beleaguered president has doubled down on his call for talks, but many in the opposition suspect that Maduro’s sole aim is buy time and delay the recall process.

Protesters also marched in cities across the country, sharing photos on social media that showed them wearing the colors of Venezuela’s flag.

Even as tempers flare, with Maduro’s opponents gearing up for a mass demonstration Wednesday that’s been billed the “Taking of Venezuela”, the government and opposition have agreed to embark on an attempt at dialogue to defuse the crisis.

On Tuesday, the MUD announced it would open a political trial against Maduro, summoning him to appear before the National Assembly on November 1. If not, a march will be held at the presidential palace on November 3.

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in Venezuela to demand that the government reverses its decision to block a recall referendum, which could see incumbent president Nicolás Maduro’s mandate terminated early.

That move by the Maduro administration prompted OAS Secretary-General Luis Almagro to compare the Venezuelan government last week to a dictatorship and to call on the countries of the Americas to apply the OAS’s Democratic Charter to “defend democracy in Venezuela”.

The opposition majority in the Assembly passed a resolution Sunday declaring a rupture in the constitutional order and urging military personnel to disregard “unconstitutional” orders, as well as asking the global community to take action against Maduro.

Numerous protesters who gathered for today’s demonstration described the cancellation of the referendum effort as proof that Venezuela has abandoned the last vestiges of democracy and gone full dictatorship. “‘Today we Venezuelans are mobilising in defence of our constitutional rights and against the coup”, leading opposition figure Henrique Capriles said on Twitter.

“I’m not scared of protesting”.

“They don’t have the capacity to mobilise the people and that’s why they want to use force to barricade the avenues”, he said.

Congress was expected to take up the issue of Maduro’s responsibility for the country’s worsening political and economic crisis Thursday.

On Wednesday, Maduro convened a meeting of the heads of all the country’s major institutions and said he lamented that Congress’ President Henry Ramos had decided not to attend.

Maduro has vowed to go to the Caribbean island of Margarita where he has proposed to start talks on Sunday. Maduro says opposition hotheads are seeking to overthrow the government illegally with US assistance.

They accuse Maduro of disregarding the constitution by preventing a recall referendum against Maduro, who faces low approval ratings, high crime rates and food scarcity that is leaving many Venezuelans hungry. This concentration of power within the presidency has been further consolidated under Maduro to ensure the continued survival of his government against a rising tide of unrest amongst his own citizens.