A major fault line in Venezuela’s opposition movement surfaced this week as the socialist elements of the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) urge participation in the government’s regional elections, which the center-right opposition rejects as a move legitimizing dictator Nicolás Maduro.
The anti-socialist opposition in Venezuela called for daily protests following the “mother of all marches” last week, and angry Venezuelans appear to have heeded the call, defying increasingly violent repression tactics from the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB).
Venezuela’s anti-socialist opposition has skipped a third meeting with the government mediated by the Vatican as the Socialist Party’s second-in-command chides Pope Francis for being “disrespectful,” in a sign that the Vatican’s role in attempting to bring an end to Venezuela’s woes has changed little.
Antonio Ledezma, the mayor of Caracas, Venezuela, was arrested in a siege of his office yesterday without a warrant and for unspecified “conspiracy” charges. His arrest occurs the day after Popular Will Party opposition leader Leopoldo López’s one-year anniversary behind bars, also for posing an unspecified criminal threat to the nation.
