Venezuela’s newly-elected congress to be sworn in

Venezuela’s newly-elected congress is set to be sworn in, with the ruling party taking control of the country’s legislature, consolidating President Nicolas Maduro’s hold on power and removing US-backed figure Juan Guaido from the political scene.

According to reports, the shift in legislative power will take place on Tuesday.

In a move some criticized as a strategic error, the opposition led by Guaido boycotted the country’s December 6, 2020 parliamentary elections, which led to a landslide victory for the ruling party and ended the opposition’s control of the National Assembly.

Guaido will thus be out of a job as National Assembly speaker, losing the limited institutional legitimacy he held and leaving foreign governments backing his unilateral claim to the presidency — mainly the United States — in a difficult position.

“An important part of the opposition has adopted the extremist vision that was imposed from Washington during the [US President Donald] Trump era,” Maduro declared in a television interview on January 1. “The Trump era is ending. We will see how that part of the opposition reacts.”

SS