CARACAS, Venezuela _ Venezuela's Supreme Court backed down Saturday from a pair of rulings that triggered a constitutional crisis and sparked international condemnation, but antigovernment activists were proceeding with plans for a massive protest march.
President Nicolas Maduro, whose government had defended the controversial Supreme Court decisions, appeared on television late Friday after an emergency meeting of his security staff and declared the controversy over.
"April is starting on a good step!" Maduro declared, the Associated Press reported. "Constitutional victory!"
Opposition leaders, however, renewed demands to move up national elections scheduled for next year. They rejected Maduro's depiction of himself as an able leader who had worked to resolve the crisis.
The Supreme Court, which earlier in the week issued a pair of rulings that essentially stripped the nation's legislative branch of its powers, issued several clarifications on its website Saturday. The revised language appeared to reverse the earlier, controversial rulings labeling the opposition-controlled National Assembly in "contempt" of the law.
The earlier court decisions had been met with censure from international and domestic critics, who viewed the rulings as an assault on separation of powers. Some labeled it a coup d'etat. Even the nation's attorney general, Luisa Ortega Diaz, considered a Maduro loyalist, labeled the rulings a "rupture" of the constitutional order, a comment that signaled deep divisions within the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela.
The controversial court decisions triggered a new wave of street protests. Maduro's foes had long assailed the Supreme Court, which had blocked a succession of congressional measures since the opposition gained control of the National Assembly in 2015.
Opposition leaders sought to galvanize their case against the Maduro government and said the government's apparent reversal of the court ruling would not alter their plans. Their aim is to end 18 years of socialist rule that critics say has wrecked the economy and left the South American nation a political, economic and social basket case, despite its vast oil reserves and previous status as one of Latin America's richest nations.
"The dire situation we're living through in Venezuela remains the same," said Henrique Capriles, an opposition leader and former presidential candidate, the AP reported. "There is nothing to clarify when it comes to respecting the constitution."
Venezuela has been grappling with a political and economic crisis marked by triple-digit inflation, food shortages and rampant street crime. But Maduro's socialist government has blocked efforts to move up elections scheduled for next year or to convene a referendum on his leadership. The president's term does not end until 2019.
Maduro, a protege of late President Hugo Chavez, has blamed his country's woes on an "economic war" waged from the United States. Washington has been a longtime antagonist of the socialist government of Maduro and his predecessor, Chavez, who was an implacable critic of what he termed U.S. "imperialism."
Whether the court reversal would ease the current crisis remained unclear. The firestorm surrounding the court action appears to have provided new stimulus to a broad, anti-Maduro opposition coalition that is often deeply divided and has been dispirited after years of street protests and unsuccessful efforts to remove Maduro from office.
The government still enjoys considerable support, especially among poor Venezuelans who have benefited from cheap housing and other aid bestowed by the socialist government. Pro-government activists routinely organize rallies to demonstrate their support for Maduro and loyalty to the socialist legacy of Chavez.
Meanwhile, political strife has erupted in another South American nation. Protesters in Paraguay clashed with police in the capital, Asuncion, after senators approved a constitutional amendment allowing the president to seek a second term, news agencies reported.
The opposition has balked at efforts that would allow the president, Horacio Cartes, and other former chief executives to run in elections scheduled for next year.
Under current law, Paraguayan presidents are limited to a single five-year term.
