Venezuelan Vice President Tareck El Aissami (L) attends a meeting in Caracas, Venezuela, on Aug. 9, 2017. Venezuela's vice-president, Tareck El Aissami, said on Wednesday that the National Assembly, controlled by the opposition, will not create "obstacles" for the country's economy. (Xinhua/Zurimar Campos/AVN)
CARACAS, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's vice-president, Tareck El Aissami, said on Wednesday that the National Assembly, controlled by the opposition, will not create "obstacles" for the country's economy.
"There will be no more actor, no constitutional power, specifically the National Assembly that will create obstacles or seek to...upset the national economy," said El Aissami to the members of the newly elected National Constitutional Assembly (ANC).
The ANC has been heavily criticized around the world as being an illegal legislative body, created to allow President Nicolas Maduro and the government to side-step the National Assembly.
On Tuesday, the ANC passed a decree, stating that its decisions would be above all other constitutional bodies in Venezuela.
Venezuela is currently living through a severe economic crisis, marked by triple-digit inflation and a scarcity of food and medicine. The government has blamed it on an alleged "economic war," waged by the U.S., Colombia and the local opposition.
To answer this, El Aissami asked the ANC to hold a "broad consultation about the 15 economic and productive engines, to continue visualizing the ready potential at the national level and to measure productive capacities."
He added that the government is not "satisfied" as there is "much left to build. We are still consolidating a model, our socialism, despite adverse circumstances."
One of the main tasks facing the ANC is to diversify Venezuela's economy away from oil revenue.
