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Leaders of Venezuela's opposition movement on Monday announced plans for more street demonstrations, a month after protests began over economic insecurity and political repression.
Followers of imprisoned opposition activist Leopoldo Lopez said a Tuesday protest march in Caracas was in the works.
"We're going to gather to pay homage to all those who have fallen as a result of the brutal repression of this dictatorial regime," declared Corina Machado, second-in-command of Lopez's center-right "Voluntad Popular" or "People's Will" party.
Anti-government protests against Maduro's government over the past month have left 18 people dead and more than 260 injured.
Machado spoke to reporters, accompanied by Lopez's wife Lilian Tintori.
Lopez was arrested nearly two weeks ago in connection to deaths stemming from last month's violent protests.
On Monday, Machado led a march of some 2,000 people to the Organization of American States, urging the group to intervene as the unrest that has roiled Venezuela continues.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Henrique Capriles called via Twitter for a major protest to be held on Saturday.
Capriles's tweet urged his supporters to join "a great national mobilization against SHORTAGES which affect the majority of people!"
Governor of the northern state of Miranda, Capriles narrowly lost last year's presidential election to Nicolas Maduro, successor to late socialist icon Hugo Chavez.
Officials said that since the start of the unrest, more than 1,000 people have been arrested, most of whom have since been released.
The demonstrations have expressed widespread public outrage over runaway crime, government repression and shortages of basic goods.
© (c) 2014 AFP
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Nat Turner
It's amazing that the middle classes, the better off classes would, wish to topple a government which directly tries to bring the poor out of poverty. Claiming the poor must learn to live without handouts, when in fact the middle classes are traditionally a subsidized class at the expense of the poor. The death of President Hugo Chavez was the opportunity to launch one of the most backward movements in history.