OAS chief presses for Venezuela elections
The head of the Organization of American States renewed a call Friday for elections in Venezuela, saying it is the only way for the beleaguered South American country to emerge from years of "dictatorship." "There should be a general election now," OAS head Luis Almagro said during a question and answer session at a Washington think tank. "What you need now is to re-establish the rights of the people," he said. "The only way to re-establish those rights is through an election, which was always the gate to exit from a dictatorship to a democratic system." Venezuela has been rocked by protests as it struggles to emerge from economic crisis under President Nicolas Maduro, who came to power in 2013 and is not expected to face a re-election vote until December of next year at the earliest. The country's economic plight is largely seen as a result of falling prices for Venezuelan oil exports, contributing to food shortages and deep economic disarray, and raising pressure to remove Maduro from power. Maduro has systematically blocked efforts by opposition groups to hold a referendum on ousting him, and blames Venezuela's economic crisis on a capitalist conspiracy backed by the United States.
