Judicial events The Court ruled that the National Assembly was "in a situation of contempt", because of the aforementioned rulings against the election of some of its members. It stripped the Assembly of
legislative powers, and took those powers for itself; which meant that the Court might have been able to create laws. The court did not indicate if or when it might hand power back. A statement issued by the court however stated that it would retain the powers of the legislature until the "contempt situation persists and the National Assembly actions are invalidated". to the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, which has a majority of government loyalists. The ruling also granted President Maduro the power to suspend elections, imprison opposition deputies and withdraw Venezuela from the
Organization of American States.
Ruling Nº 155 Ruling Nº 156 Reactions to the judicial ruling The move was denounced by the opposition, with Assembly President
Julio Borges making statements on 30 March describing the action as a coup d'état by President Nicolás Maduro. Borges called on the military to intervene, stating that "they cannot remain silent in the face of the violation of the Constitution" and "that FAN officers are also going through drama caused by the high cost of life. We want to make a call on them to be the first guardians of democracy and the Venezuelan Constitution and that they become part of the solution." Finally, Borges called on international attention to the ruling and called for new protests saying "there is fear, there is repression, but it is time to stand up." Hours later, opposition officials gathered outside of the TSJ headquarters and were attacked by pro-government paramilitary groups called
colectivos and National Guard troops. Deputy
Juan Requesens was attacked by colectivo forces while Carlos Paparoni was pushed to the concrete by a National Guardsman. A journalist for the National Assembly's broadcast team,
El Capitolio TV was struck in the head and required stitches. Government supporters and authorities also attempted to take recording devices away from the media on the scene. In a rare break of ranks, on 31 March 2017, pro-government Attorney General
Luisa Ortega Díaz stated on Venezuelan state television while holding a copy of the
1999 Constitution that the TSJ's ruling was a "rupture of constitutional order" and that it was her "duty to inform my country of my deep concern over these events," with her audience responding with a lengthy applause. Borges, the Assembly President, stated that officials should follow Ortega's example and called on the military "to obey the orders of your conscience." though access to the meeting point was quickly blocked by the
Bolivarian National Guard. Twelve subway stations were closed. Pro-government
colectivos blocked opposition marches and fired weapons at protesters, with demonstrations resulting in the injuries of about 42 individuals, including seven police officers, while over 50 people were arrested. meeting with President Maduro on 1 April 2017 In reporting the story,
The New York Times noted that in the previous few months Maduro had been swiftly consolidating power, and the Assembly was considered by many to be the sole remaining counterbalance to the President's control. It also noted that following such moves by the government, "many now describe as not just an authoritarian regime, but an outright dictatorship."
Reversal of decisions Following the rare criticism from Attorney General Ortega, an inner-circle official, Maduro ordered a review of the TSJ's decision regarding the National Assembly. The opposition, however, dismissed the backtracking and called on Venezuelans "to take to the streets" against what they called an attempted coup, arguing that the moves proved that Maduro controlled the judiciary and therefore
separation of powers did not exist in the republic. Protests in the country continued after the reversal with the opposition demanding early elections.
Proceedings against TSJ Following the reversal of the rulings by the TSJ, the National Assembly prepared proceeding against the court, accusing the court of not being separated from the executive, though
Reuters noted that "the move by the opposition-led congress would only be symbolic because it remains powerless". Following the criticism of the TSJ's ruling by Attorney General Ortega, there were calls for her to be involved in the so-called Republican Moral Council, made up of the Prosecutor's Office, the Office of the Comptroller and the Office of the Ombudsman, which had the right to remove members of the TSJ according to the Venezuelan constitution. During protests on 4 April, opposition leaders announced that they would pursue the removal of the seven judges who signed the rulings against the National Assembly.
Constitutional assembly Proposal On 1 May 2017 following a month of protests that resulted in at least 29 dead, Maduro called for a
Constitutional Assembly that would draft a new constitution that would replace the
1999 Venezuela Constitution. He invoked Article 347, and stated that his call for a new constitution was necessary to counter the actions of the opposition. Critics suspected that the members of the Constitutional Assembly would not be elected in open elections, but selected from social organizations loyal to Maduro.
Diosdado Cabello pointed that the new constitution would prevent a politician similar to the Argentine
Mauricio Macri from ever becoming president of Venezuela.
Luis Salamanca, former rector of the
National Electoral Council, considers that the front may not be capable to stop Maduro, as he is unwilling to negotiate the proposal. The next day on 23 May, Danilo Antonio Mojica Monsalvo, the magistrate of the Social Cassation Chamber of the TSJ announced his disagreement with President Maduro's Constitutional Assembly, stating that without a popular referendum voting on the assembly, the move would be "spurious ... a legal metaphor to describe what is done outside the Constitution". Another TSJ judge, Marisela Godoy, spoke out against Maduro's proposal, stating "At this moment I support, without any fear, the attorney general (
Luisa Ortega Díaz), who is not any official" and that if she were to be criticized by the government, she "does not care". However, the Constitutional assembly proposal was accepted by the CNE, with an election slated for 10 July 2017.
Reactions to constitutional assembly The call generated further protests. 920 Battalions were created and maintained, composed by 200,000
militias to respond to violent protests.
Pedro Carreño, aide of
Diosdado Cabello, stated that Venezuela would be suffering an attack similar to the
1973 Chilean coup d'état against
Salvador Allende, and that those militias would prevent that. The constitution of Venezuela limits the scope of the military courts to crimes of a military nature. A "road map" was also enacted by the opposition which entailed the nullification of further actions performed by the TSJ, the call for a continuous, peaceful protest movement "until the restitution of the constitutional order" and for Venezuelans to continue to confront President Maduro's constitutional assembly.
Article 333 Article 350 Reactions to parallel government According to Jose Vicente Haro, a constitutional lawyer, the Venezuelan opposition should name new directors of Venezuela's branches of government in order to establish a parallel government and to further pursue corrupt individuals, however noting that the Bolivarian government may attempt to jail opposition leaders. ==Reactions==