and major protests in the OPEC nation convulsed by nearly two months of unrest.
In the
latest sign of internal fissures, a magistrate of the pro-government Supreme
Court spoke out against the planned assembly, saying it was "not the
solution to the crisis" and called on Maduro to "think
carefully" to avoid more bloodshed.
At least 53
people have been killed as a result of unrest that began in early April. Riots
and looting have underlined risks that protests could spin out of control given
widespread hunger, anger at Maduro and easy access to weapons in one of the
world's most violent countries.
Undeterred
by opposition, Maduro on Tuesday presented the 540-member "constituent
assembly" project as a cure to Venezuela's demonstrations, which he says
are a U.S.-backed attempt to overthrow "21st century Socialism."
"Votes
or bullets, what do the people want?" Maduro asked a crowd of red-shirted
supporters waving Venezuelan flags at the Miraflores presidential palace.
"Let's
go to elections now!" he said, before detailing how the new assembly will
be partially elected by votes at a municipal level and partially by different
groups, including workers, farmers, students, and indigenous people.
Opposition
leaders say the project is a sham designed to avoid a presidential vote slated
for next year and keep Maduro in power despite an oil-rich economy in a
tailspin.
In the most
telling sign of internal rumblings against Maduro, Venezuela's state prosecutor
panned his plan for a grassroots congress and warned it risked deepening the
crisis.
Venezuelans
are scrutinizing the government and the armed forces for any further cracks as
protesters take to the streets daily to demand early elections, humanitarian
aid to alleviate food and medicine shortages, and freedom for jailed activists.
"Persistent
and increasingly violent unrest will eventually prompt key stakeholders to
abandon Maduro and negotiate a rapid transition that sets a timetable for new
elections; the precise timing is impossible to predict, however," the
Eurasia Group political consultancy said in a note to clients on Tuesday.
"DESPERATE
PEOPLE"
Enraged by
the economic crisis and perceived lack of democratic solutions, some
Venezuelans have taken out their ire by publicly shaming government officials
or knocking down statues of firebrand late leftist Hugo Chavez, who governed
Venezuela from 1999 to 2013.
In the
southeastern city of Puerto Ordaz, the president of a state-run company was
"kidnapped," beaten up, and stripped naked by protesters, the
government said.
In the lower
middle-class Caracas neighborhood of El Paraiso, masked men on Monday night
shot up an apartment building and parked cars in what one resident, who asked
not to be named out of fear of reprisals, said was retaliation for nearby
barricades set up by opposition sympathizers.
Hundreds of
people have been injured in the violence, around 2,700 arrested, with 1,000
still behind bars, and 335 tried in military tribunals, according to rights
groups.
Lootings
have also spiked, as many Venezuelans cannot afford three square meals a day or
survive on basics like yucca or corn flour.
In the
usually calm peninsula of Paraguana, a food warehouse was looted on Sunday
night. Some 17 people have been arrested.
"The
rumors started that they were going to sell something, so everyone came out and
started to beat on the warehouse door, there were a lot of desperate people,
kids and pregnant women," said a local resident, asking to remain
anonymous for fear of retaliation.
"The
neighbors knocked the door down, they destroyed everything, and made off with
bags of flour and pasta. Police and National Guard had to ask for
reinforcements, they threw tear gas and we heard shots."
REUTERS
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