The Heat: Venezuela gripped by crisis

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By CGTN America

For President Nicolas Maduro, last Sunday’s victory put in place a new legislative body with the power to rewrite the country’s constitution and solidify his power. It came at a time of deep economic uncertainty, with shortages of basic necessities, record homicides and according to one university study, nearly 87 percent of the population unable to afford food.

In the four months leading up to the vote, at least 125 people were killed as thousands took to the streets in protest.

CGTN America spoke to George Ciccariello-Maher, an associate professor at Drexel University, about whether the current unrest can lead to a civil war.

Ciccariello-Maher said the opposition boycotting the election is a sign that the events on the ground could be heading towards such direction.

"It’s not surprising that they’re not recognizing the result because they didn’t participate in the election," he said about the opposition, recalling similar events in 2005.

"They did the same thing in 2005 and we were left without representation in the National Assembly. So now, what you’re seeing is a conscious choice to push harder, to push forward with what would clearly be an unconstitutional exit."

"The opposition consultation that it carried out a couple of weeks ago was very clear on this. It talks about military intervention into politics. They talked about forming a national unity government," he noted, stressing that such features were not part of the Constitution.

However "they use the language of defending the constitution to press for the removal of the legitimately elected president of Venezuela."

Ciccariello-Maher said that the situation is worrisome, especially if the Venezuelan government fails to come up with solutions to the country's flagging economy.

"These contradictions are going to be even deeper, and there will be more protests in the street, and the opposition will continue to press for the overthrow of this government which has really been their policy, not only for the past couple of years, but also for the last 15 years."