MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Venezuelans protestors and government supporters take to the streets nationwide on Saturday

“The call [to protest] is for April 6, across the country is not just a protest to reject the situation we are going through but for a definite end to the usurpation”

Venezuelans are expected to take to the streets nationwide on Saturday, less than a week after power outages left many without basic services and water. US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim president in late January, called on his supporters to gather in the capital Caracas and different areas around the country to protest against President Nicolas Maduro and the “tragic” conditions plaguing the country.

“The call [to protest] is for April 6, across the country and in different points of the country. It's not just a protest to reject the situation we are going through but for a definite end to the usurpation,” Guaido said on Thursday in the opposition-backed National Assembly. 

“It would be a great show [of strength] from the Venezuelan people, that we will not get used to the tragic situation we are living.”

Maduro's government, which accuses Guaido and the United States of attempting to stage a coup, responded by calling for its supporters to march in Caracas.

The planned protests come as the country plunges deeper into crisis. Earlier this week, the government-backed Constituent Assembly stripped Guaido of his parliamentary immunity. Last week, the government also said it was barring the opposition leader from holding office for 15 years.

Maduro's government accuses the opposition leader of inciting violence and receiving illicit funds from outside the country. Diosdado Cabello, president of the Constituent Assembly, said that “justice now has to take its course.”

Analysts said the move by the assembly to strip Guaido of his immunity will prove to be a major challenge for the opposition leader.

“Now Guaido has no immunity, but he hasn't been imprisoned, so the US has no argument for intervention, and Guaido is cornered, his capacity to mobilize has been reduced, this will pose a big challenge for the leader,” said Marco Teruggi, an analyst in Venezuela.