Energy rationing has been added to…
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The constitution establishes that the referendum may be requested halfway through the term in office of any official, a threshold Maduro crossed this month after beating Capriles three years ago in the election for the 2013-2019 presidential term.
Last week, the government announced it was introducing power cuts for up to four hours a day and was also considering putting the clocks forward by a half-hour to reduce demand for electricity in the early evening. Protesters took to the streets on Tuesday night, and looters raided shops for food and set fires.
“We are lacking medicine, work, education, and on top of that there is the electricity problem”. For Wired, Linda Poon investigates the causes of the country’s infrastructure crisis. “We think it affects production and, even though we are getting paid, we will be unable to do the overtime work that increased our wages”, he said. “They’re trying to create a violent situation”.
Reduced water levels at Venezuela’s main hydraulic dam have neared critical levels.
But critics of the government say the situation has been made worse by years of mismanagement, a failure to diversify energy sources and a lack of investment. Caracas occasionally shuts down because of citywide losses of power and some rural areas are living mostly in the dark. Some Venezuelans complain that the country is starting to resemble the dystopian series “The Hunger Games”, in which districts suffer for the benefit of a heartless capital city.
At a paint store, owner Luis Marcano said sales are way down, not just because of the power outages, but the economic crisis as well.
Opposition leaders are starting the process of seeking a referendum to remove him.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – The United States says piracy and armed robbery are increasing at an alarming rate in the Gulf of Guinea, pointing to two reports by industry experts of at least 32 attacks off the coast of Nigeria alone so far this year.
Marquez said before leaving Venezuela he wants make sure his mother has a passport. If President Maduro stands down during the final two years of his term the current vice president, Aristobulo Isturiz, is entitled to take over, without the need for an election.
Retired Environmental Ministry worker Edgar Diera sat on the steps of the Justice Ministry, making doomsday predictions to people who showed up only to find the doors locked.
Employees will see no changes in their salary, Maduro said during the televised announcement. “This place is in ruins”. It was the latest blow to an economy that the International Monetary Fund forecasts will contract 8 percent this year, after shrinking 5.7 percent in 2015.
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Residents wait in line to buy groceries in Charallave.
