Huge Crowds Rally Against Venezuela's Deeply Unpopular President

Source: www.npr.org - Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Lilian Tintori, wife of prominent jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, waves a Venezuelan flag during a rally against the government of President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on Wednesday. Ronaldo Schemidt /AFP/Getty Images Huge crowds of demonstrators rallied in the streets of Venezuela's capital and in cities across the country, after authorities halted a campaign to hold a recall election intended to oust the country's deeply unpopular president, Nicolas Maduro. The demonstrators were protesting "what they call a sharp turn towards authoritarianism," as reporter John Otis tells our Newscast unit. "The Maduro government has jailed opposition leaders, stripped Congress of its powers and cracked down on the press," he says. Maduro, who was elected in 2013 after the death of Hugo Chavez, is also presiding over the country's current economic implosion. The opposition was gearing up to gather signatures in order to trigger a recall election when the electoral council blocked the effort last week, citing alleged fraud, as The Two-Way has reported . "Basically, they're saying that they are not willing to give up power through constitutional means," Harold Trinkunas, a Venezuela expert at Stanford University, tells Otis . Opposition leaders point out that the members of the council are aligned with Maduro. They say "their only alternative now is to take over the streets and convince President Maduro to resign," Otis adds. Protester Lu

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