The 2017 Venezuelan protests were a series of protests occurring throughout Venezuela. Protests began in January 2017 after the arrest of multiple opposition leaders and the cancellation of dialogue between the opposition and Nicolás Maduro's government.
As the tension continued, the 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis began in late March when the pro-government Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) dissolved the opposition-led National Assembly, with the intensity of protests increasing greatly throughout Venezuela following the decision. As April arrived, the protests grew "into the most combative since a wave of unrest in 2014" resulting from the crisis with hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans protesting daily through the month and into May. After failing to prevent the July Constituent Assembly election, the opposition and protests largely lost momentum.
Background
Following the death of President Hugo Chávez, Venezuela faced a severe socioeconomic crisis during the presidency of his successor, Nicolás Maduro, as a result of Chávez's policies and Maduro's continuation of them. Due to the country's high levels of urban violence, inflation, and chronic shortages of basic goods attributed to economic policies such as strict price controls, civil insurrection in Venezuela culminated in the 2014–17 protests.
Protests occurred over the years, with demonstrations occurring in various intensities depending on the crises Venezuelans were facing at the time and the perceived threat of being repressed by authorities.
Due to the discontent with the Bolivarian government, the opposition was elected to hold the majority in the National Assembly for the first time since 1999, following the 2015 parliamentary election. As a result of that election, the lame duck National Assembly, consisting of government officials, filled the TSJ with allies.
Into early 2016, the TSJ alleged that voting irregularities occurred in the 2015 parliamentary elections and stripped four lawmakers of their seats, preventing an opposition supermajority in the National Assembly which would be able to challenge President Maduro. The TSJ court then began to approve of multiple actions performed by Maduro and granted him more powers.
After facing years of crisis, the Venezuelan opposition pursued a recall referendum against President Maduro, presenting a petition to the National Electoral Council (CNE) on May 2, 2016. By August 2016, the momentum to recall President Maduro appeared to be progressing as the CNE set a date for the second phase of collecting signatures. Though it made the schedule strenuous, stretching the process into 2017 made it impossible for the opposition to activate new presidential elections.
On 21 October 2016, the CNE suspended the referendum only days before preliminary signature-gatherings were to be held.
The CNE blamed alleged voter fraud as the reason for the cancellation of the referendum. International observers criticized the move, stating that CNE's decision made Maduro look as if he were seeking to rule as a dictator.
Days after the recall movement was cancelled, 1.2 million Venezuelans protested throughout the country against the move, demanding President Maduro to leave office. Caracas protests remained calm while protests in other states resulted in clashes between demonstrators and authorities, leaving one policeman dead, 120 injured and 147 arrested. That day the opposition gave President Maduro a deadline of 3 November 2016 to hold elections, with opposition leader Henrique Capriles stating, "Today we are giving a deadline to the government. I tell the coward who is in Miraflores ... that on 3 November the Venezuelan people are coming to Caracas because we are going to Miraflores".
Days later on 1 November 2016, then National Assembly President and opposition leader Henry Ramos Allup announced the cancellation of the 3 November march to the Miraflores presidential palace, with Vatican-led dialogue between the opposition and the government beginning.
By 7 December 2016, dialogue halted between the two and two months later on 13 January 2017 after talks stalled, the Vatican officially pulled out of the dialogue.
Timeline
Protests were originally much smaller in the early months of 2017 due to the fear of repression. The first large protest to occur in 2017 was on 23 January 2017, with several thousand Venezuelans participating. Following that day of protest, opposition leader Henrique Capriles stated that only surprise protests would occur for the meantime.