A new invitation to dialogue was rejected by the right-wing coalition called the “Democratic Unity Board” (MUD). This Sunday, the Governor of Miranda state and presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, announced on behalf of the opposition bloc that they will not attend the meeting convened by the Presidential Commission for the National Constituent Assembly (ANC), scheduled for Monday, May 8, to talk about the scope of the proposal of the national leader, Nicolás Maduro, to call for a Constituent Assembly to activate the originary power of the people.
In a press conference with representatives of (right wing) parties such as Voluntad Popular (VP) and Un Nuevo Tiempo (UNT), the leader of the Primero Justicia (PJ) party ruled out a future participation of the MUD in this constitutional mechanism, and stated that the agenda of street activities will be maintained for an indefinite period.
For this reason, they will resume the agitation agenda this Monday, with a march towards the Ministry for Education, in Caracas downtown. They affirm that they will deliver a document to the holder of that portfolio, Elías Jaua, who is also the head of the ANC’s Presidential Commission, in which they express their decision not to participate in the Constituent Assembly.
“The ‘Unity” is not going to attend this meeting. We are going to mobilize to the Ministry of Education. We are going to go to the office of Mr. Elias Jaua, accompanied by the people, to remind him of the Constitution … Do not become part of a fraudulent process. We Venezuelans have a Constitution, and to change it, here are the mechanisms provided”, said Capriles.
The convocation to an ANC made by a Presidential decree is established in articles 347 and 348 of the Magna Carta.
The Head of State opted for this route to seek a democratic exit from the current political crisis that affects the country, caused precisely by the continuous street actions that end in vandalism acts promoted by ultra-right wing groups. These outbreaks have left 35 people dead and more than 700 Venezuelans injured since April.
The Presidential Commission for the ANC this week held meetings with different sectors of the country – women, students, businessmen, workers, communes – to expose the scope of the decree calling for a Constituent, and to answer doubts and observations.
