Today’s legislative session at the National Assembly had to be cut short due to continued disruptions from pro-PSUV protesters who were watching the proceedings from the chamber’s stands. The protesters chanted and shouted insults at the opposition deputies throughout the morning’s proceedings, and ignored repeated calls from National Assembly President Henry Ramos Allup to stop so that the session could take place without distractions.
When it became clear that the government supporters would not yield to Allup’s repeated requests, he ordered the chamber cleared and declared a postponement of debate until next week.
After the chamber was cleared, Allup told reporters that the public would be barred from entering future legislative sessions in order to avoid the kind of disruption that put an end to today’s proceedings from happening again:
We won’t allow sabotage. The sessions will go on without [people in the stands], and they’ll be transmitted live through the media. If [people in the stands] won’t allow the functioning of the chamber, then we have to take measures to ensure its function.
The National Assembly also has its own YouTube channel from which it broadcasts all of its sessions.
Allup also lamented the fact that the National Assembly’s security staff, which operates as part of the National Guard, did not act to remove the disruptive individuals.
Below, a video showing the disruptive protesters in action:
The pro-government protesters shouted staple political slogans, including “La patria se defiende, la patria no se vende!” [Defend the homeland, don’t sell it out!”] and “El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido!” [“The people, united, will never be defeated!”].
Amazonas Governor: We’ll Try Again
Amazonas state governor Liborio Guarulla was in attendance at the National Assembly today, since the legislative body was scheduled to discuss the disqualification of two National Assembly deputies from his state by the Tribunal Supremo de Justicia earlier this year. Guarulla lamented the fact that the congress was not allowed to do its job today, and suggested that the PSUV encouraged the disorder at the legislature today, saying:
We’re sorry to see our brothers [the protesters] used in this way. This spectacle speaks to the miserable state of the policies of the defeated. We’ll come back again so that the deputies will hear what we have to day, our demand that the persecution against our indigenous brothers ends.
Video Shows Sorry State of Valencia Water
A video uploaded to the DolarToday YouTube page yesterday shows a group of men turning on a fire hydrant in the city of Valencia, Carabobo state. The hydrant – which is presumably connected to the city’s water supply – then begins to spew black water.
Below, the video along with my translation:
Cameraman: Alright. Here’s the water that the people of La Bocaina and Federacion [neighborhoods in the center of the city] here in Valencia, Carabobo state. These are crystalline waters. This is potable water for us. This is thanks to President Maburro [a play on words that combines Maduro’s name with the word for donkey, “burro”]. Look how delicious it is! How can anyone not get sick here? This is our water, Valencia water. From Valencia to the world! This is really good water, this water that we drink.
Maduro Continues Contempt for NA
Speaking at an event in which he announced new fishing initiatives in Sucre state, Maduro lashed out against the National Assembly’s attempt to remedy the country’s economic crisis through a law that he considers would counter the Bolivarian revolution’s goals. Referring to the Ley de Produccion Nacional [National Production Law] and the postponement of today’s National Assembly session, Maduro said:
Today, the homeland’s deputies put up a tremendous fight. They made the enemy retreat, [the enemy that] wanted to impose a vulgar law. I think it’s the most vulgar law that they’re proposed to this day (…) With this law, they’re trying to privatize all of the state-owned companies. All of them. On top of that, they’re trying to make me recognize debt worth billions and billions of dollars with the oligarchy (…) They don’t know who they’re messing with (…) Nicolas Maduro will never accept any imposition from the National Assembly.
Questions/Comments? E-mail me: invenezuelablog@gmail.com
In Venezuela 