Venezuelan right-wing advances impeachment attempt

Tens of thousands greet President Maduro at the Miraflores palace, Oct. 25, 2016. | Photo: Twitter / @CuatroFDigital

The Venezuelan Constitution does not contemplate the possibility of an impeachment process run by the legislators on their own initiative.

The right-wing dominated National Assembly in Venezuela opened a parliamentary session Tuesday on “the beginning of an evaluation process meant to determine the constitutional situation of the president of the Republic,” which concluded with approving a hearing process against President Nicolas Maduro.

The hearing is scheduled for Nov. 1 at 3 p.m. and will raise his alleged “political responsibility” into violations of the constitution, human rights and democracy.

When he presented the proposal to the plenary session, opposition legislator Juan Miguel Matheus added that the procedure could potentially compromise the president's administrative and criminal responsibility, resulting in new presidential elections.

He argued that the procedure was supported by Article 232 of the constitution, which states that “the president of the Republic is responsible for his/her actions and for the fulfillment of the duties linked to his position. His/her duties include guaranteeing the rights and freedoms of Venezuelans.”

Right-wing legislators, who have held the majority since the legislative elections in December 2015, argued that Maduro's move to bypass the assembly in order to impose next year's national budget was unconstitutional. They also accused him of allegedly suspending the recall referendum.

Legislators from the governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela protested against what they called an attempt at a “parliamentary coup” and a violation of the constitutional rule, arguing that the impeachment procedure did not legally exist in Venezuela.

Meanwhile, Maduro has called for a meeting of the Venezuelan Defense Council at the Miraflores presidential palace for Wednesday, calling on all public authorities to engage in national dialogue in order to assess the parliamentary coup and the "plan for peaceful dialogue."

Tens of thousands of Chavistas came out today to support the president and the democratic process in the country. Many affirmed that they would not let there be a coup in Venezuela like recently occurred in Brazil against President Dilma Rousseff.

Article 222 of the constitution contemplates the possibility of having state officials declare about their "political responsibility;" however the National Assembly is not entitled to open the procedure by itself, but needs to “solicit Citizen Power”—which consists of the ombudsman, the attorney general and the treasurer. After all of that is accomplished, the supreme electoral tribunal has the last word, according to the country's constitution.

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