Venezuelan Congress Censures Mic-throwing Lawmaker

CARACAS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Oct, 2016 ) : Venezuela's opposition-majority legislature censured a lawmaker from President Nicolas Maduro's socialist party Thursday for throwing a microphone at a colleague during a debate.

Socialist deputy Hugbel Roa was speaking against a motion to congratulate newly named cardinal Baltazar Porras -- a stern Maduro critic -- when he lost his temper with opposition lawmaker Marco Bozzo, who was in favor.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Roa shouted, before throwing the microphone at Bozzo. Bozzo lunged toward him to retaliate, but colleagues intervened to keep the two men apart. The scuffle was just the latest chaos to engulf Venezuela's National Assembly, where the opposition took control in January, ending the left's 17-year monopoly on power.

The center-right opposition won a landslide in mid-term elections as Venezuelans punished the socialists for a devastating economic crisis. Since then, the chamber has repeatedly descended into tumult.

The Supreme Court -- seen as close to Maduro -- has meanwhile blocked all its bills. Plunging crude prices have pushed OPEC-member Venezuela's oil-dependent economy to the brink of collapse, triggering severe shortages of food and medicine, spiraling inflation, and rampant crime.

After Roa's outburst, the opposition majority stripped him of his right to speak in the Assembly. The lawmaker moderating the debate criticized the socialist's outburst.