Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó was re-elected president of the parliament by opposition MPs on Sunday at a session hosted by a newspaper.
Guaidó was prevented by police from entering the National Assembly building, where the allied deputies of the President, Nicolás Maduro, with some opposition deputies, elected a new president, Luís Parra.
“I swear to God and the people of Venezuela that I will make them respect” the Constitution as “president of the Parliament and interim president,” said Juan Guaidó after being voted by about 100 deputies.
Many parliamentarians persecuted by the court participated in the vote, in what the opposition calls “political persecution”. The members of the 16 July movement, opponents of Nicolás Maduro but also usually critical of Guaidó, voted for Guaidó.
Guaidó and many opposition deputies did not even enter the parliament, where Luis Parra was elected, because they were stranded for hours at the security lines of the Bolivarian National Police and the Bolivarian National Guard outside Parliament.
Spanish news agency Efe witnessed Guaidó being stopped by security forces. The Venezuelan President told reporters that Guaidó did not attend the session because he did not want to “show up”.
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