Venezuelan opposition hopes for big turnout in protest vote

Venezuelan opposition hopes for big turnout in protest vote

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Chanting "freedom!" and waving their country's
tri-color flag, thousands of Venezuelans lined up across the country on
Sunday to vote in a symbolic rejection of President Nicolas Maduro's
plan to rewrite the constitution, a proposal that's escalating tensions
in a nation stricken by widespread shortages and more than 100 days of
anti-government protests.

In what appeared to be smaller numbers in many parts of the capital,
government supporters went to polling stations in a rehearsal for a July
30 vote to elect members of the assembly that will retool Venezuela's
1999 constitution.

The opposition says the vote has been structured to pack the
constitutional assembly with government supporters and allow Maduro to
eliminate the few remaining checks on his power, creating a Cuba-style
system dominated by his socialist party.

The success of the opposition's symbolic referendum will be measured by
how many millions participate. Democratic Unity, a coalition of some 20
opposition parties, has printed 14 million ballots for voters inside and
outside the country of 31 million people. Few expect turnout that high
but analysts say participation by more than 8 million people would
significantly hike pressure on the government.

By mid-morning participation appeared to be high, with thousands of
people lining up at tables in churches and parks across the capital.

"Since we opened at 7 a.m. the line hasn't let up," said Pedro Garcia,
organizer of a voting station filled with hundreds of people in the
south Caracas neighborhood of El Valle, a stronghold of government
support that has been weakening in recent years.

Juan Madriz, a 45-year-old insurance company employee, said he didn't
object to rewriting the constitution per se, but rejected Maduro's
decision to do so without putting that decision to a vote, as his
predecessor Hugo Chavez did.

"If they're forcing us, it isn't democracy," Madriz said.

Isabel Santander, a 67-year-old retired auditor, said she was voting
against the constitutional assembly as a protest against the country's
economic collapse.

"I signed because there's no medicine, no food, no security," she said.
"There's no separation of powers, no freedom of expression."

Maduro and the military dominate most state institutions but the
opposition controls the congress and holds three of 23 governorships.
The country's chief prosecutor has recently broken with the ruling party.

The opposition is boycotting the constitutional assembly. Instead, it
called backers to 2,000 sites across the country to fill out ballots
featuring three yes-or-no questions. Do they reject the constitutional
assembly? Do they want the armed forces to back congress? Do they
support the formation of a government comprised both of Maduro backers
and opponents?

The government calls the opposition vote a manipulation aimed at
destabilizing the country, and has been urging its supporters to
participate in the constitutional assembly, which it calls a way of
restoring peace to Venezuela.

"Some comrades and brothers may be worn out by the right's great media
campaign. Now they've invented this July 16 thing to put the burden on
their own people and evade their responsibility," socialist party Vice
President Diosdado Cabello said Saturday. "That's how the right is,
manipulative, fooling their own people."

Polls show that barely 20 percent of Venezuelans favor rewriting the
late Hugo Chavez's 1999 constitution — about the same level of support
as for Maduro.

For the government-backed rehearsal, hundreds lined up outside a school
in El Valle guarded by heavily armed soldiers and militiamen, waiting
quietly to place a practice vote that also served as a show of support
for the government.

"Our president Chavez supported the poor, the people," said Yveth
Melendez, a 41-year-old homemaker. "Today we're following his legacy,
with President Nicolas Maduro ... The constitutional assembly is
something that benefits the people."

Opponents of Venezuela's government blame it for turning one of the
region's most prosperous countries into an economic basket case with a
shrinking economy, soaring inflation and widespread shortages. The
government blames the crisis on an economic war waged by its opponents
and outside backers. The petroleum-rich nation has been hit hard by
falling world oil prices.

Clashes between protesters and police have left at least 93 people dead,
1,500 wounded and more than 500 behind bars.

_____

Fabiola Sanchez on Twitter: https://twitter.com/fisanchezn

Michael Weissenstein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mweissenstein

Source: Venezuelan opposition hopes for big turnout in protest vote -
https://apnews.com/26d9b391a4214526996d5f9bb0dcab27/Venezuelan-opposition-hopes-for-big-turnout-in-protest-vote