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Petition drive builds for removal of Maduro

Jacob AlexanderMay 3, 2016

Venezuela's opposition has presented more than a million signatures to election authorities calling for a referendum to remove the country's president. Economic woes have eaten into the left-wing president's popularity.

https://p.dw.com/p/1Ignb
Präsident Venezuela Nicolas Maduro
Image: Reuters/C. G. Rawlins

Venezuela's unified opposition said Monday it had delivered petitions with some 1.8 million signatures of voters seeking President Nicolas Maduro's removal in a nationwide referendum.

The Democratic Unity coalition (MUD) gathered far more than the required 1 percent of voters' signatures, or nearly 200,000, needed to trigger the next phase of a recall referendum.

"With this successful strategy, the MUD has progressed in achieving urgent political change via impeccably peaceful and constitutional measures," coalition chief Jesus Torrealba said in a statement.

Many Venezuelans struggle with food shortages, soaring inflation and now a paralyzing electricity crunch stemming from the rock-bottom price of oil that's affected the country's oil-dependent economy.

On Sunday, the country set its clocks forward half-an-hour to curb evening electricity demand.

Nationalization threat over disrupted industries

In another symptom of economic difficulties facing the nation, the country's largest beer-maker, Polar, halted production at four breweries last weekend over barley shortages.

Venezuela Bier Polar
Polar, the country's largest beer manufacturer, is shutting some of its breweries because of a lack of imported barley - the president dismisses the move as a ploy to embarrass the governmentImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/F. Llano

But Maduro vowed Sunday to order the state takeover of any companies that halt production over what he insists are trumped-up shortages invented by wealthy elites plotting against him.

The electoral body must now validate the signatures before the opposition can collect another 20 percent, or around 4 million signatures. Only then could a vote finally be held over whether to remove the president.

Maduro has denounced attempts to force him out before his term expires in 2019 and accuses the opposition of seeking a coup against him to destroy the socialist legacy of his late predecessor, Hugo Chavez.

The government-leaning Supreme Court and electoral board have stymied recent attempts by the opposition-led National Assembly.

Maduro's overall approval rating has plummeted as economic woes take their toll, with recent opinion polls suggesting as many as two-thirds of Venezuelans want him out.

jar/rc (AP, AFP, Reuters)