Venezuela’s opposition held a national day of protest, the opening salvo in its new strategy to oust President Nicolas Maduro, who responded with a rally of his own.
With shouts of “Resign now!” thousands of Venezuelans demonstrated against Maduro in northeast Caracas, as the socialist president gathered thousands of his own red-clad supporters in the centre of the capital to chants of “Maduro won’t go!”
No clashes were reported, a relief for a country torn by tensions and where anti-government protests in 2014 left 43 people dead.  The crowds on both sides numbered in the thousands, though no official turnout figures were immediately available.
Venezuela’s opposition is counting on the power of the street to force the deeply unpopular Maduro to listen to calls for change, after it won a landslide victory in legislative elections last December only to see the courts hamstring its new authority.
Seventeen years into the socialist “revolution” launched by the president’s late mentor Hugo Chavez, a punishing economic crisis has stoked outrage in the once-booming oil giant, where chronic shortages of basic goods, long lines and soaring prices have become the norm.
The fractious opposition coalition, the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), spent weeks debating its plan of attack, then finally announced it would use not one but all options available to oust Maduro, including a recall referendum and a constitutional amendment reducing the presidential term.
But with an unfriendly Supreme Court likely to stand in its way, it is placing special emphasis on its call for protests.
Seeking to show he can still muster crowds himself, Maduro called his own rally, where he said his opponents had “gone crazy” and vowed to hang onto power “until the final day.”
“Let them come after me. The people are strong enough to take them on and win, constitutionally and peacefully,” said Maduro, his top military brass at his side.