Venezuela ministers shun hearing on economic crisis

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro delivers his annual state of the nation report, in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. AP File Photo

CARACAS, Venezuela—Venezuelan government ministers refused Thursday to go before their opposition rivals for a key legislative hearing on economic emergency measures in the crisis-hit nation, officials said.

The opposition-controlled National Assembly is due by Friday to vote on a bid by President Nicolas Maduro to decree a state of economic emergency in the oil-rich South American state.

READ: Venezuela’s Maduro admits economic ‘catastrophe’

His economic ministers were set to defend the measures in the assembly, but pulled out in the last minute saying they would only participate if it was closed to the media, said the opposition speaker of the congress, Henry Ramos Allup.

He said that Vice-President Aristobulo Isturiz told him “they would not come to this afternoon’s session where they were to answer written questions from members of a special commission, if the session was public with media present.”

The leader of the pro-government bloc in the assembly, Hector Rodriguez, earlier said members of Maduro’s economic cabinet “will not take part” in the session.

READ: Venezuela’s Maduro seeks to share pain of economic ’emergency’

He accused the center-right opposition, which this month took control of the assembly for the first time in 17 years, of trying to turn the session into a “show.”

“Now is not the time for political calculations, it not the time for a show, but to face up responsibly to the historic moment we are living through and move forward alongside the president,” Rodriguez said.

Ramos said the opposition lawmakers in the congress refused to hold the session without the media, and the assembly would make a decision on the decree on Friday.

The decree, issued last Friday, would give Maduro 60 days of extraordinary powers to combat a deep recession and triple-digit inflation.

It allows for the administration to commandeer private companies’ resources, impose currency controls and take “other social, economic or political measures deemed fitting.”

With Venezuela in a spiraling economic crisis, the opposition has vowed to force changes to Maduro’s economic policies, but nevertheless promised to study the decree.