Venezuelan opposition lawmaker Maria Corina Machado arrives at a news conference after a fight broke out at a session of the National Assembly in Caracas. The scuffle left a number of legislators bloodied and injured during an angry session linked to the South American nation’s bitter election dispute.
CARACAS: Opposition and government supporters flooded Venezuelan streets in rival May Day marches yesterday as a continuing dispute over the results of last month’s presidential vote kept political tensions high in the Opec nation.
On Tuesday, opposition deputies were beaten in a fracas in Congress resulting from their refusal to recognise the presidency of Nicolas Maduro, who narrowly won the April 14 election triggered by the death of socialist leader Hugo Chavez.
Government officials, meanwhile, have threatened to jail opposition leader Henrique Capriles for allegedly orchestrating violent demonstrations that killed nine people after the vote. Most foreign governments, with the exception of the United States, have recognised the election results.
The volatile situation underscores the challenges of the “Chavismo” movement to maintain Hugo Chavez’s self-styled revolution without his messianic but micro-managing leadership.
“We’re not afraid of the government. Even if they threaten, beat, and insult us, we’re going to continue demonstrating like we are today,” said Graciela Perez, 61, a housewife, marching through the affluent east side of the capital of Caracas.
“We only want the truth to be known — that they stole the elections.” A renewal of the post-vote violence appeared unlikely because the rival marches in Caracas, involving tens of thousands of people on each side, did not cross paths. REUTERS
