Maduro loyalists walk out of Venezuelan parliament

Caracas, Jan 6: Venezuela parliament swore in its new crop of parliamentarians, the first time in 17 years that an opposition party, the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), holds a majority. Tensions between the government and the MUD have been high for weeks, with incoming Assembly President Henry Ramos Allup vowing to root out corruption within the administration of President Nicolas Maduro, Xinhua reported. During the iuguration ceremony on Tuesday, lawmakers from the ruling Great Patriotic Pole bloc stormed the dais after claiming Allup had broken assembly rules. The Bolivarian loyalists then walked out of the chamber, stating that Allup had prevented them from speaking and only allowed opposition member Julio Borges to present the MUD’s legislative agenda. (IANS)