Venezuela braced for protests today after President Nicolas Maduro declared a state of emergency to combat the "foreign aggression" he blamed for an economic crisis that has pushed the country to the brink of collapse.
The opposition called on protesters to flood an avenue in western Caracas to pressure the authorities to allow a referendum to remove the Socialist leader from power, in line with the constitution.
Maduro's camp called a rival demonstration in the center of the capital, where he was to announce new measures to address a crippling recession that has led to food shortages, soaring prices, riots, looting and vigilante justice.
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The economic crisis, together with an electricity shortage, has already forced the government to decree daily power cuts across most of the country, close schools on Fridays, and reduce the workweek to two days for government employees.
The embattled president, who declared a state of "economic emergency" in January, expanded it today to a full-blown state of emergency to fight what he called "threats from abroad."
In an address to the nation, Maduro said the measures, initially decreed for three months, will likely be extended through 2017.
He did not specify if they will limit civil rights. The original economic decree authorized the government to seize private business assets to guarantee the supply of basic goods.
The new decree, he said, is "a fuller, more comprehensive protection for our people," which "guarantees peace, guarantees stability, that will allow us... To recover the country's productive capacity."
Maduro regularly blames US and local business interests for what his administration calls an "economic war" on oil-dependent Venezuela, whose economy has sunk in tandem with global crude prices.
Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves, but its economy contracted 5.7 percent last year and its official inflation rate topped 180 percent.
Washington has had a rocky relationship with Caracas since Maduro's late predecessor and mentor, Hugo Chavez, came to power in 1999, and the two countries have not exchanged ambassadors since 2010.
Despite the bad blood, the United States is Venezuela's main trading partner and biggest oil customer.
Senior US intelligence officials believe Maduro's government could be overthrown in a popular uprising this year, The Washington Post reported today.
