Caracas Residents To Block Streets, Protest President Rewriting Constitution

Volunteers count the ballots after the poll station closed during a symbolic referendum in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, July 16, 2017. Venezuela's opposition called for a massive turnout Sunday in a symbolic rejection... Volunteers count the ballots after the poll station closed during a symbolic referendum in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, July 16, 2017. Venezuela's opposition called for a massive turnout Sunday in a symbolic rejection of President Nicolas Maduro's plan to rewrite the constitution, a proposal that's escalating tensions in a nation stricken by widespread shortages and more than 100 days of anti-government protests. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Residents of Venezuela’s capital say they are blocking streets on their own initiative to voice frustration ahead of a general strike in protest of a government push to rewrite the constitution.

Protester Jimmy Arvelo says he and neighbors set up a barricade of tree trunks and tires in his Caracas neighborhood. Arvelo says they are protesting peacefully, but “we are resisting.”

Such roadblocks paralyzed much of Caracas on Wednesday, with some public bus lines shutting down.

Venezuela is in the throes of a political crisis that has seen months of protests in which scores of people have died.

The government intends to hold a July 30 election to select an assembly charged with rewriting the nation’s charter.

President Nicolas Maduro’s allies have called on the assembly to impose executive-branch authority over the few remaining institutions outside the control of the ruling party.

Latest World News
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: