[News] Venezuela: Guaido Replaced as Parliament Head in Disputed Vote

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14755 Venezuela: Guaido Replaced as
Parliament Head in Disputed Vote
By Lucas Koerner and Ricardo Vaz - January 5, 2020
------------------------------

Caracas, January 5, 2020 (venezuelanalysis.com) - Venezuelan opposition
leader Juan Guaido was handed a defeat Sunday in his bid to secure
reelection as president of the country’s National Assembly (AN).

With the votes of reportedly 81 of 150 lawmakers, opposition Deputy for
Yaracuy State Luis Parra was named president of the legislature. Franklin
Duarte of the Social Christian COPEI party will serve as first vice
president, Deputy Jose Noriega as second vice president, and Democratic
Action (AD) party legislator Negal Morales as secretary. The parliamentary
leadership is renewed annually on January 5, according to Venezuela’s
Constitution.

The leadership slate was presented Sunday morning by Deputy Jose Brito in
opposition to that headed by incumbent Juan Guaido.

Last month, Brito led a group of opposition legislators in breaking with
Guaido following a new corruption scandal
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14739> engulfing senior AN deputies.
Brito, Parra, and other deputies were accused of accepting kickbacks
from a Colombian
businessman <https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14602> purportedly linked to
Venezuela’s CLAP food program in exchange for lobbying US and Colombian
authorities. The lawmakers have adamantly denied the allegations, in turn
accusing Guaido of corruption. Both Brito and Parra were expelled from the
First Justice party in the wake of the allegations.

Following his election to the top parliamentary post last January,
Guaido proclaimed
himself <https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14244> “interim president” of
Venezuela and was immediately recognized by Washington and its allies. In
the subsequent twelve months, the opposition leader repeatedly attempted to
oust the Maduro government by force
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14453>, while seeing his popularity
plummet amid a series of scandals, including his role in the alleged
embezzlement <https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14545> of “humanitarian
aid” and links to Colombian paramilitary outfits.
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14656>

On Sunday, Guaido never entered the legislative palace, claiming he was
barred from doing so by security forces. A video circulated on social media
even showed the opposition politician trying to scale a fence some time
before the vote.

However, his version of events has been called into question by other
opposition deputies, who did take part in the session and suggested Guaido
could have done the same. AD Deputy William Davila, a staunch Guaido
loyalist, was seen
<https://twitter.com/venanalysis/status/1213950999162998785> freely
entering the chamber, and later told
<https://twitter.com/venanalysis/status/1213931653791440903> reporters that
all but a handful of lawmakers were allowed to do so. Video footage showed
Guaido refusing
<https://twitter.com/madeleintlSUR/status/1213955699505614850> to enter
except in the company of several deputies whose parliamentary immunity had
been revoked for alleged criminal offenses. Other top opposition
legislators, including AD’s Henry Ramos Allup and A New Era’s Stalin
Gonzalez were present for the vote.

According to Second Vice President Noriega, 31 opposition deputies joined
the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela and other Chavista parties
in electing the new leadership. No finalized tally has been released and
the identity of the dissident opposition lawmakers remains unknown at the
time of writing.

Guaido and other opposition members claimed the vote for the new AN
leadership was illegal and lacked quorum, labelling it “the murder of the
Republic.”

The former AN chief subsequently convened a meeting with loyalist deputies
at the headquarters of anti-government newspaper El Nacional. Opposition
outlets reported that a parallel parliament had re-elected Guaido as
president with 100 out of 167 votes. First Justice’s Juan Pablo Guanipa and
Venezuela Project party Deputy Carlos Berrizbeitia were chosen as first and
second vice-presidents, respectively. However, no information was provided
as to who took part in the vote, though the tally did reportedly include
legislators currently outside the country.

Guaido had previously attempted to introduce electronic voting
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14749> so deputies who are abroad, some
of them fleeing criminal charges, could take part instead of their
substitutes. The move was struck down as unconstitutional by Venezuela’s
Supreme Court.

International reaction was swift, with US officials rejecting the new
parliamentary leadership and reiterating their backing of Guaido. Acting
Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Michael Kozak called the
days events “a farce” and said Guaido remained “interim president.”

Regional right-wing governments represented in the Lima Group likewise
signaled they would not recognize Venezuela’s new legislative authorities.

The European Union also published a statement denouncing “irregularities”
in Sunday’s vote and stating it would continue to recognize Guaido as
National Assembly president.

For his part, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro publicly expressed his
recognition of new AN President Luis Parra.

“The National Assembly has voted and there is a new leadership board. It
was in the air that Guaido was going to be removed by the very opposition,”
he told reporters on Sunday, while also criticizing Guaido for “not showing
up.”

Speaking to press following his swearing in, Parra indicated his first
priority would be selecting a new supervisory board for the country’s
National Electoral Council “so the people can decide with their vote” in
new legislative elections scheduled for this year.

He also vowed to pursue the “path of reconciliation,” pointing out that
“more than 80 percent of Venezuelans want to live in peace.”

*Lucas Koerner reporting from Caracas and Ricardo Vaz from Mérida.*
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