Maduro has called for the Constituent Assembly, with powers to reform the constitution and supersede other institutions, in what he has said is an attempt to bring peace after three months of anti-government protests in which at least 90 people have died. Opponents plan a rival, unofficial referendum on July 16 to give Venezuelans a say on what they view as a sham poll by the leftist president, accusing him of trying to formalize a dictatorship in the South American OPEC nation. As “terrorist” incidents go, it was so incompetent and downright silly that you begin to suspect that it wasn’t a “false flag” operation sponsored by the government after all. The opposition coalition is hoping to further delegitimize Maduro’s plans with their own vote, which will ask Venezuelans their views on rewriting the constitution, the opposition’s alternative push for an election, and the military’s responsibility for “recovering constitutional order.”

Should Venezuelans overwhelmingly vote against Maduro, lawmaker Freddy Guevara said the opposition would call for a national strike to pressure the president.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro says voting in his upcoming election on July 30 is mandatory for all 2.8 million state employees, with employees who do not vote facing ostracisation. Opponents of the government plan to hold their own unofficial referendum on the Maduro government on July 16.