Venezuela's Maduro proposes earlier elections for National Assembly

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores attend a rally in support of the government and to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the arrival to the presidency of the late President Hugo Chavez in Caracas, Venezuela February 2, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro proposed on Saturday bringing forward parliamentary elections to this year, as he seeks to crush the threat posed by the National Assembly's head, Juan Guaido, who has proclaimed himself legitimate head-of-state

Maduro, in a speech to supporters, said the all-powerful government-controlled Constituent Assembly would debate calling earlier elections for the National Assembly, which he denounced as "bourgeois."