Venezuela opposition holds fresh protests

Hundreds of protesters marched through the streets of Caracas on Friday amid growing anger over Maduro's handling of the nation's economy.

The Democratic Unity coalition of roughly 30 political groups needs to collect 4 million signatures in order to trigger the plebiscite, which must be held before January 10 for a new presidential election to be held. If the referendum is held after that, and Maduro were to lose, his vice president would take over and the Socialists would remain in power.

The latest protests occurred as the National Electoral Council (NCE) announced on Thursday that a meeting meant to organize the next stages of the referendum process would be postponed until Monday. Opposition leader Henry Ramos Allup accused Maduro's government of trying to sabotage the referendum.

Allup called on Venezuelans to protest the move, but the turnout for Friday's protest was meager compared to an anti-Maduro protest on September 1 that drew an estimated 1 million people. Allup said on Twitter that the government was closing access to the city in order to keep people from protesting.

Anger rising

Maduro's popularity has steadily declined amid the country's downward economic spiral, which has led to crushing food shortages, skyrocketing inflation and a three-year recession.

Polls suggest Maduro would lose a referendum, with one, from polling firm Datanalisis, reporting that 80 percent of Venezuelans want a change of government. The president has said growing opposition toward his administration is a front for a US-led coup attempt.

The country, which relies heavily on oil exports, was thrown into crisis after global crude prices plunged in 2014. The IMF has said that inflation in the country is set to top 700 percent.

Amid the growing unrest, Maduro's government has clamped down heavily on the opposition, with one group, Justice First, saying five of its activists had been arrested prior to the protests.

blc/sms (Reuters, AFP)