Venezuelan Supreme Court Restores Power to National Assembly

Having already shot down most of the National Assembly's measures since the opposition won control in 2015, the pro-Maduro Supreme Court on Wednesday said it was taking over the legislature's role because it was in "contempt" of the law. Speaking ahead of the Court's decision, Socialist President Nicolas Maduro claimed the conflict had been overcome.

The court based its latest decision on an earlier ruling that the opposition majority was in contempt of court. At the Organization of American States in Washington, an emergency session was scheduled for Monday to discuss the Venezuelan crisis.

Venezuelan Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz also decried the ruling this week.

Some hardliners in the opposition called for the military, the traditional arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela, to intervene. "It constitutes a rupture of the constitutional order".

The earlier court decisions had been met with censure from both worldwide and domestic critics, who viewed the rulings as an assault on separation of powers.

Still, Maduro also called for renewed dialogue between the government and the opposition, saying that is the only path to resolving Venezuela's political crisis.

Venezuelan National Assembly president Freddy Guevara said on Twitter that the "coup" was unacceptable to the people and joined calls for protests on Saturday morning.

Mr Maduro convened the National Security Council seeking to calm the political uproar, although at least one key member refused to attend. Chile's left-of-center president, who has been reluctant to openly criticize Maduro, said she was deeply anxious by the ruling and ordered her ambassador to return home for consultations.

Why is Venezuela in crisis?

"This clearly destroys the most important pillar of any democracy, which is popular representation", Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said. Some said they anxious that while Maduro has so far insisted on meeting foreign bond payments amid the economic collapse, a further escalation of the crisis may erode that determination.

The Venezuelan Supreme Court has chose to return legislative powers to the country's parliament, the National Assembly, and immunity to its lawmakers, media reported Saturday. Maduro classified the parliament's actions as a coup attempt.

Inside Venezuela, the opposition's outcry was to be expected.

"We have to come out and defend democracy", said Sara Ramirez, 68, a building porter, waiting in line.

A demonstrator wearing chains protests in Caracas against a Supreme Court ruling, later reversed, to assume the legislative decision-making powers of the National Assembly. Several protesters were arrested and some journalists had their cameras seized.

The protests erupted on the street and in the halls of government.

What could be different this time is that Venezuela's economy is on its knees. The new legal framework could allow Maduro to raise funds by giving him the authority to form new ventures - potentially with allies including China and Russian Federation - that typically involve signing bonuses paid to the government.

Special correspondent Mogollon reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and McDonnell from Mexico City. The race in the Andean nation is very tight and it can't have helped President Rafael Correa, as a close friend to Venezuela, to have to support a move that was being billed by some as a "self-coup" in the days before a presidential election.