The opposition Demoratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) party launched a plan on Saturday 12 March to unseat current President Nicolás Maduro, following earlier plans to do so in February this year. They plan to do so by organising protests on the one hand and on the other hand by trying to organise a recall referendum or amend the constitution to limit the current term of President Nicolás Maduro. Protests took place in major cities such as Caracas on the same day. The MUD had won elections earlier last year in December and managed to secure a two-third majority in the Parliament together with representatives of the indigenous community. The President however subsequently curbed down the powers of the Parliament by Presidential decree, which was backed up by the Supreme Court that is composed of pro-government judges.    

Rival protests organised and sponsored by the government took place at the same time, aimed at the sanctions the US had imposed earlier, as the current government tries to divert the attention to the US. The economy of Venezuela is also currently in a bad condition, after having contracted by 5,7% in 2015 and 4% earlier in 2014. 

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For more on the plans of the opposition to unseat the current government and its feasibility click here.

For more on the economic and political situation of Venezuela click here.
For economic facts and figures on Venezuela click here.