Venezuelan business leader slams Maduro's congress plan

Carlos Larrazabal, recently elected president of Fedecamaras, Venezuela's main business union, speaks during the annual assembly of the guild in Maracaibo, Venezuela July 18, 2017. Picture taken July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Isaac Urrutia

MARACAIBO, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela's severe economic crisis will worsen if President Nicolas Maduro presses ahead with a controversial new congress that would further undermine investor confidence in the OPEC nation, the head of the country's biggest business guild said.

Despite months of protests by the majority-backed opposition and widespread international condemnation, the ruling Socialist Party is holding a vote on July 30 to set up a legislative superbody known as a Constituent Assembly.