BOGOTA, Colombia Facing nearly daily protest calling for new elections, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Monday offered what the opposition called a fraudulent alternative: a new constitution.
"I convoke the original constituent power to achieve the peace needed by the Republic, defeat the fascist coup, and let the sovereign people impose peace, harmony and true national dialogue", Maduro told red-shirted supporters.
A demonstrator wears a mask with the colors of the Venezuelan flag during an opposition May Day march in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, May 1, 2017.
The crisis has driven Venezuelans into the streets to protest, where chaos and violence have ensued.
"This will be a citizens assembly made up of workers", Maduro said.
The ruling socialist party and the right-wing opposition have been locked in a bitter power struggle that has obstructed governing and led to violent anti-government protests in which some 29 people were killed.
The leader of the opposition-held Congress, Julio Borges, said: "What Maduro is proposing in his desperation is that Venezuela never again manages to have direct, free and democratic voting".
Venezuela's constitution was last rewritten in 1999, early in the 14-year presidency of the late Hugo Chavez, who launched a socialist revolution in the oil-exporting nation. That could distract them from the drumbeat of near daily street protests that they have managed to keep up for four weeks, political analyst Luis Vicente Leon said.
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He has signed a decree calling for the formation of a 500-member constituent assembly, in an election that would exclude political parties but instead include representatives from social movements and trade unions that are still largely loyal to him.
Tulane University sociologist David Smilde said Maduro's announcement was a "pretty clever" move to dodge conventional elections and it could both appeal to government hardliners and ease worldwide pressure on him.
Critics of the president said he was increasingly dictatorial and planned to staff the assembly with supporters and avoid elections he would likely lose during a crushing recession in the oil-producing country. Twenty-nine people, including supporters of both sides and a National Guard sergeant, have died in unrest since early April.
While Maduro alleges a US-backed coup plot, foes say he has wrecked the economy and become a tyrant. "The Venezuelan government withdrew from the Organization of American States just a few days ago, the one regional organization that was planning to really put pressure on President Maduro".
Venezuela last week said it was quitting the Organization of American States after it and other worldwide bodies expressed concern about the country's adherence to democracy.
He also cited the articles 347, 348 and 349 of the Venezuelan constitution, which, from his point of view, provide the president with powers to call the assembly.
"We are not going to cool down the street", said senior opposition lawmaker Freddy Guevara, however. Many opposition leaders criticized the process, saying it merely bought the government time and extended the crisis. Some demonstrators threw stones and gasoline bombs and dragged trash into the streets to make barricades.
Nonetheless, opposition leader Henrique Capriles opposed the move, calling it a "coup".
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