BBC: Hundreds of thousands of people have marched through the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to protest against President Nicolas Maduro.
Opposition supporters, staging their largest rally for two years, called for Mr Maduro’s removal. They blame him for Venezuela’s economic crisis and accuse the electoral commission of delaying a referendum that could shorten his stay in power.
Mr Maduro’s supporters also rallied in large numbers. He accuses the opposition of trying to stage a coup. The opposition said close to a million people turned out for their march, that authorities dubbed the “Takeover of Caracas”, but the government disputed the figures.
Dressed predominantly in white, they chanted “we are going to bring down Maduro”. Protesters said they had enough of the policies of the governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela.
“We are going to defeat hunger, crime, inflation and corruption. They’ve done nothing in 17 years. Their time is finished,” Naty Gutierrez told Reuters news agency.
A small group of protesters clashed with riot police as the peaceful rally ended.
In the run-up to the march, a number of opposition politicians were detained. Last week, Daniel Ceballos of the opposition Popular Will party was returned to prison after having spent a year under house arrest awaiting trial on charges of rebellion. Popular Will party activists Carlos Melo and Yon Goicoechea have also been arrested over the past few days, the first suspected of carrying a “detonator cord” and the latter of carrying explosives.
The opposition hopes the march will pressure the electoral authorities into allowing them to launch the second petition needed to trigger the recall referendum as soon as possible. Timing is key as the date when the referendum is held will determine what happens next. If a referendum should go against the president before 10 January, new elections will be held, which the opposition hopes to win. But if it is held after that date and Mr Maduro is recalled, his loyal vice-president will serve out the end of his term until 2019.