Venezuela opposition wins majority in legislature by a landslide

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
(Image credit: Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images)

In Venezuela, the Democratic Unity coalition gained control of the legislature from the Socialists, the ruling party for the last 16 years.

The opposition won 99 seats to 46 for the Socialists, election board head Tibisay Lucena announced early Monday. There are 167 seats in the National Assembly, and some districts still need to be counted, Reuters reports. As fireworks went off across pro-opposition strongholds in Caracas, President Nicolas Maduro spoke, saying the results were due to an "economic war" against him, adding he was there with "morals and ethics to recognize these adverse results."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.