Five questions to understand the self-proclamation of Guaidó in Venezuela

Group the forces that challenge the Chavismo

How did the proclamation of Guaidó as president take place?

At a public event parallel to the parades against the government, opposition leader Juan Guaidó announced Wednesday that he had formally badumed the powers of the national executive for the purpose to "put an end to the usurpation" of the power led by Nicolás Maduro, according to him. .

What is your constitutional foundation?

Articles 233 and 333 of the Constitution stipulate that the President of the National Assembly must badume the presidency "in charge" before the "absolute absence" of the President and up to the holding of the president. a new election in 30 days. Guaidó's argument is that the elections last May in which the Chavista leader won did not meet the conditions to be considered legitimate and that, as a result, the government ceased on January 10th.

On what is the opposition based to say that the elections of last May were not legitimate?

There are a large number of imprisoned and exiled opposition leaders, and the electoral justice has challenged the candidacy of the Table of Democratic Unity (MUD). On election day, the government placed political points near the voting places. There were allegations of fraud and the competition had the lowest participation rate in history (46%). According to the official count, Maduro got 68% of the votes.

What did the electoral justice say?

The Supreme Court of Justice and the National Electoral Council are both controlled by Maduro, so all their decisions have been aligned with the ruling party.

How did the opposition, which was divided, manage to get together and take back the streets of the country?

The key factor is the figure of Guaidó, a 35-year-old politician who, unlike other opposition leaders, like his mentor, Leopoldo López – still under house arrest – is a new face to face power. And while, for some, he has little experience and sometimes ambiguous speech, others see him as a creator of consensus and an excellent organizer.