Venezuela: Guaido calls for ‘largest march in history’ in coup attempt

More than 100 injured but without any concrete signs of defection from the armed forces leadership.

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Venezuela opposition: Coup to oust Nicolas Maduro is under way
Venezuela opposition: Coup to oust Nicolas Maduro is under way

Juan Guaido called for the “largest march” in the country’s history, a day after he called for the military to oust President Nicolas Maduro, causing chaos in the streets of Caracas.

In his strongest effort to gain the support of the armed forces, Guaido appeared early Tuesday morning outside a Caracas air force base with dozens of National Guard members. That triggered a day of violent protests, leaving more than 100 injured but without any concrete signs of defection from the armed forces leadership.

“We know that Maduro does not have the backing or the respect of the armed forces,” Guaido said in a video message posted to his social media accounts on Tuesday evening. “We have seen that protest yields results. We should keep up the pressure.”

FILE PHOTO: Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro attends a gathering in support of his government in Caracas, Venezuela February 7, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo – RC1DEC98AF40

Whether the protest turnout meets those lofty hopes will provide a key test for Guaido, as some supporters grow frustrated that Maduro remains in office more than three months after Guaido – who leads the opposition-controlled National Assembly – invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing Maduro’s May 2018 re-election was illegitimate.

While Guaido earned the backing of the United States and most Western countries, the armed forces have stood by Maduro, who retains the support of allies like Russia, China and Cuba. That has frustrated Guaido’s bid to assume the day-to-day functions of government on an interim basis – which he says would be a prelude to calling new elections.

Western countries say that Venezuelan living standards have declined even further in the first several months of the year, with a series of blackouts and water shortages adding to hyperinflation and chronic shortages of food and medicine that have allegedly prompted millions to emigrate.

Maduro, a socialist leader who calls Guaido a U.S. puppet seeking to orchestrate a coup against him, has also called on supporters to march on Wednesday.

“Tomorrow, the first of May, we will have a large, millions-strong march of the working class,” Maduro said in a Tuesday night television address. “We have been confronting different types of aggression and attempted coups never before seen in our history.”

Guaido’s choice of International Workers’ Day for a major march is borderline laughable, considering the International Workers’ Day is mainly a socialist holiday. He is
making appeals to union leaders and public workers, a traditional base of support for Maduro and his predecessor and mentor, the late President Hugo Chavez.

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