Venezuela’s embattled President Maduro orders writing of new constitution, to the anger of protesters

Venezuela’s socialist leader has ordered the writing of a new constitution, further angering opponents whose intensifying campaign to oust him has brought hundreds of thousands into the streets to demand change.

President Nicolas Maduro was vague in a televised speech Monday evening about how members would be chosen for a citizen assembly to produce a new charter. He hinted some would selected by voters, but many observers expect the government to give itself the power to pick a majority of delegates to the convention.

Opposition leaders cried foul, calling the planned constitutional assembly a ploy to give Maduro an excuse to put off regional elections scheduled for this year and a presidential election that was to be held in 2018. Polling has suggested the socialists would lose both those elections badly amid widespread anger over Venezuela’s economic woes of triple-digit inflation and shortages of food and other goods.

Speaking hours after yet another big anti-government march ended in rock throwing by some protesters and tear gas firing by police, Maduro said a new constitution is needed to restore peace and stop the opposition from trying to carry out a coup.

“This will be a citizens assembly made up of workers,” the president said. “The day has come brothers. Don’t fail me now. Don’t fail [Hugo] Chavez and don’t fail your motherland.”

If the constitutional process goes forward, opposition leaders will need to focus on getting at least some sympathetic figures included in the assembly. That could distract them from organising the near daily street protests that they have managed to keep up for four weeks, political analyst Luis Vicente Leon said.

“It’s a way of calling elections that uses up energy but does not carry risk, because it’s not a universal, direct and secret vote,” Leon said. “And it has the effect of pushing out the possibility of elections this year and probably next year as well.”