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               Venezuela Opposition Kicks Off Maduro Recall Drive

   by Reuters

   Venezuela's election board gave opposition leaders on Tuesday a
   document letting them begin the process of seeking a referendum to
   remove President Nicolas Maduro, who is under fire over a deepening
   economic crisis.

   Triple-digit inflation, Soviet-style production shortages and a severe
   recession have made the socialist leader broadly unpopular, and the
   opposition's decisive victory in legislative elections last year has
   emboldened it to push for a recall vote.

   Opposition legislators chained themselves to the council's office last
   week to protest its failure to provide the paperwork for the first step
   toward collecting the nearly 4 million signatures needed to trigger the
   referendum.

   They celebrated Tuesday's move as a political victory and changed plans
   for a protest march on Wednesday to a signature drive instead.

   "Today we took a first step to begin the recall of Maduro," opposition
   deputy Elias Matta tweeted. "We the people support change, there is no
   way to stop it."

   But supporters of the recall effort face a protracted and uncertain
   road.

   The opposition must now officially ask the elections council to oversee
   the collection of some 200,000 signatures, and then must request
   another petition drive in which it must gather the required 4 million
   signatures.

   Venezuela's opposition-dominated National Assembly has passed
   legislation to streamline the process for seeking recall votes, but the
   Supreme Court, which routinely backs Maduro in disputes with the
   legislature, looks certain to strike it down.

   On Tuesday, the court ruled that any constitutional amendment to reduce
   the presidential term could not be made retroactive, shooting down one
   of the opposition's other main strategies to oust Maduro, who was
   elected in 2013.

   Maduro, 53, the hand-picked successor of the late socialist president,
   Hugo Chavez, has sworn he will not be forced out before his term ends
   in 2019 and has accused the opposition of seeking to stage a coup
   against him.

   "No one can bring down this revolution," said Socialist Party stalwart
   and lawmaker Pedro Carreno in reaction to Tuesday's news, saying the
   opposition could not defeat the ruling "Chavismo" movement either in
   the street or at the polls.

   Should the opposition succeed in recalling Maduro this year, a new
   election would be held. But a recall in 2017 would leave the presidency
   in the hands of the vice president, a post currently held by Socialist
   Party loyalist Aristobulo Isturiz.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/venezuela-opposition-gets-paperwork-f
   or-maduro-recall-drive/3304418.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/venezuela-opposition-gets-paperwork-for-maduro-recall-drive/3304418.html