"All the decisions will be brought before the people. It is not true that the National Constituent Assembly will be making unilateral decisions in its sole discretion. On the contrary, all decisions will be subject to the approval of people. The members of the National Constituent Assembly will be listening to people," the ambassador said at a press conference in Moscow.
On Thursday, the National Constituent Assembly will be officially established and will formally begin its work. According to Faria, the issues of peace and economic development are among the topics that will be discussed by the Constituent Assembly members.
"It is necessary for Venezuela to transform the oil-dependent economic model into a different one. The members of the Constituent Assembly will also be discussing constitutional issues as a new constitution should reflect new forms of democracy and provide for a mechanism of people's participation in power," Faria pointed out.
Last week, Venezuela held an election to select members of the Constituent Assembly, a new legislative body with the power to amend the constitution. According to the National Electoral Council, the voter turnout was just over 41.5 percent. However, after publishing photos of empty polling stations throughout the day, the country's opposition is now disputing the figure.
The election was held amid mass protests across the country that have already resulted in over 120 deaths. The opposition believes that Maduro's plan for constitutional reform is aimed at sidelining the parliament and does not recognize the voting results.
