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National Guard agents struggle with Guaidó 0:37
(CNN) - The fate of the only political institution controlled by the opposition in Venezuela was pending on Sunday, as the pro-government legislators claimed to swear before a new president of the National Assembly.
Screams and fights broke out inside and outside the legislative palace because security forces with riot gear prevented several opposition congressmen from entering the legislative palace, including opposition leader Juan Guaidó, president of the National Assembly.
Guaidó, who last year declared the government of Nicolás Maduro illegitimate and swore in as the country's chief executive, was expected to be re-elected as head of the legislature. Instead, inside the palace, a little-known congressman named Luis Parra, was appointed to the post by a skeletal assembly of pro-government legislators. The decision came amidst the chaos inside the chamber and without the session being declared formally open.
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Constitutional experts and members of the Venezuelan opposition who support Guaidó have said that Parra's appointment is a farce. They cite the rules of the National Assembly, which requires a quorum for the agency to open its affairs. In the absence of a minimum number of legislators, many of whom were blocked from entering the building, the procedure requires the National Assembly to form a "Preparatory Commission" to find ways to reactivate a voting session.
Parra was a member of the pro-Guaido Primero Justicia opposition party until December 2019, when he was expelled from the party due to a corruption scandal.
Guaidó then tried to enter the legislative chamber by jumping over a fence, but was blocked by members of the National Guard who had riot gear.
Speaking to CNN, Guaidó urged the international community to take action, saying: “This is another proof that we live under a dictatorship, as if someone had any doubts. However, we are going to do what we have to do and install the only legitimate national assembly. ” The opposition leader is expected to hold an alternative session on Sunday night at the headquarters of El Nacional, one of the oldest newspapers in Venezuela.
In a publicly televised speech later Sunday, the president in conflict Maduro recognized Parra and called for new elections for all seats of the National Assembly in 2020. "We aspire to recover the National Assembly with votes and we will achieve it," he said, alluding to the fact that the chamber is dominated by opposition lawmakers.
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But dozens of other countries, including neighboring Colombia, have said they will not recognize Parra as president of the legislative body. And the United States, which recognized Guaidó as the legitimate leader of the country last year, has promised to support him, with Michael Kozak, interim undersecretary of the United States Department of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, tweeting on Sunday that Guaidó “remains the interim president of Venezuela by virtue of its constitution. The false session of the national assembly this morning lacked a legal quorum. There was no vote. ”
The Foreign Minister of Venezuela, the loyal of Maduro Jorge Arreaza, responded to the United States, tweeting: “We reject the vulgar interventionism of the Trump administration in the internal affairs and institutions of Venezuela. They still don't understand that we are an independent and sovereign country. ”
Juan GuaidóNicolás Maduro