Saturday, February 12, 2011

Brawl breaks out in Venezuelan parliament

Allies and adversaries of President Hugo Chavez have come to blows in Venezuela's National Assembly.

Several rival assembly members, including opposition politician Alfonso Marquina, approached the podium during a debate where senior government officials were taking questions from opposition politicians.


YouTube link.

Mr Marquina complained that boisterous Chavez supporters inside the chamber should be silenced and angry congressmen in front of the podium began pushing and shoving, with Mr Marquina and pro-Chavez opponent Henry Villanueva exchanging blows.

Fellow assembly members, aided by security guards, separated the pair and the melee broke up after appeals for calm from the podium. Afterwards, Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro blamed opposition politicians for the violence.

No comments: