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Is Venezuela on the verge of a coup d'état? | Euronews Answers

The Venezuelan government and the opposition measured their support on the streets of Venezuela on Wednesday after a few days on the edge of the abyss. Ghosts of a military rebellion returned in the wake of the recent swearing in of Nicolás Maduro for a second term. The Venezuelan National Assembly, the country's de jure legislature that has a resounding opposition majority, announced on Tuesday its takeover of the executive power, backed by the US government, and the army claimed to have detained dozens of soldiers who rose up against Maduro in Caracas. Calling on Venezuelans to protest, the body demanded the establishment of a "transitional government" to organise new elections. The move was fronted by the National Assembly's president, Juan Guaidó, who yesterday told citizens: "We have a historic rendezvous with our country, with the future of our children". However, decisions by the National Assembly are not recognised by the official justice system, which is aligned with the left-wing political ideology of Chavezism. "The only transition that will take place in Venezuela is that towards socialism," responded Diosdado Cabello, president of the Constituent Assembly, a parallel body to the National Assembly led by Maduro's partisans. One of the main objectives of the march called for on Wednesday was "to support and convince the armed forces to return to the path of the Constitution, to democracy," José Manuel Bolívar, national director of the opposition party Voluntad Popular, told Euronews. "We don't want confrontation, but there is a need to protest," he added, before assuring that it will be a march on a scale never before seen in Venezuela. Indeed, Maduro's government faces protests from citizens of popular neighbourhoods in Caracas, formerly considered strongholds of Chavismo, which has governed the country since 1999. Military revolt amid amnesty offer The protests took place in an explosive atmosphere, two days after a brief revolt by a group of soldiers in the country's capital. In addition, a group of Venezuelan soldiers last week made a statement in Lima saying that they no longer recognise Maduro as their leader, as he is a "usurper". Bolívar said the Venezuelan government only has one source of power left: "the force of weapons, which is falling apart." The opposition "seems interested, now more than ever, in approaching members of the Venezuelan Army and assuring them of their support," Tim Gill, a Venezuelan expert at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, told Euronews. On January 15, the National Assembly approved an amnesty law for civilians and the military acting "in favour of the restitution of democracy in Venezuela.” Who is Juan Guaidó? The new president of the National Assembly has in recent weeks unexpectedly risen to the position of opposition leader, fronting a fresh movement to oust Nicolas Maduro. Guaidó, who became the youngest president of the National Assembly on January 5 and has managed to instil direction in a divided and unstructured opposition. Under his leadership, the opposition majority in parliament declared Maduro's mandate a usurpation of the Venezuelan presidency, denouncing his re-election as a fraud and promising "amnesty" to soldiers who do not recognise him. On Wednesday, Guaido declared himself as interim president of Venezuela. Guaidó has taken the pulse of the Venezuelan public in dozens of "open cabildos" throughout the country. These are public hearings and discussions, historically included in the Constitution, in which both government representatives and citizens participate. For example, the battle for independence from Spanish rule in the South American country began after an open cabildo that ousted the Spanish captain general of Venezuela in 1810. US support and Maduro's international solitude Maduro won re-election in the May 20 elections — the opposition firstly called for a boycott of the vote and then claimed it was fraudulent. Criticism is not only internal, 47 countries do not recognise the Venezuelan president for "not complying with the international standards of a democratic, free, fair and transparent process." Washington expressed its solidarity with demonstrators protesting against Maduro and Vice President Mike Pence ensured "the unwavering support of the United States.” “We stand with you, and we will stay with you until democracy is restored and you reclaim your birthright of freedom,” Pence in a video shared on Twitter. “Nicolás Maduro is a dictator with no legitimate claim to power.” Maduro, during a speech on radio and television, accused the US government of ordering a "fascist coup d'état" and announced diplomatic reprisals. Not a coup d'etat? For the National Assembly and the opposition, a military uprising would not be a coup d'état, "because Nicolás Maduro is usurping power." "In no way is there a call for a coup d'état, the armed forces are being asked to defend the constitution and the values that are expressed there," Bolívar told Euronews. "They swore an oath to the Constitution, not to Maduro. " In order to do this, they cited article 328 of the Venezuelan Constitution, which states that the armed forces constitute an institution "organised by the state to guarantee the independence and sovereignty of the nation ... to the exclusive service of the nation and in no circumstance to any person or political party." "At this point, it seems that some dispersed military want to support the opposition and depose Maduro, but those who effectively control the military do not yet seem to have joined the ranks of the opposition," explained Gill, who does not believe that a coup d'état in Venezuela can be expected in the near future. "These military leaders must be receiving some kind of benefit from the existing system that surpasses the prospect of a new government. Gill believes that in the coming days, state forces will quell demonstrators and, depending on how chaotic the situation is, "it is not unlikely that we will see both the demonstrators and the state forces violently, and perhaps fatally, wounded."