Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is again grasping at straws in an attempt to defuse public discontent. On May 1, Maduro called for the creation of a constituent assembly to rewrite the country's constitution, emphasizing that the assembly would be made up of the public rather than of politicians. The details of how its members would be selected are unclear, although Maduro said he would soon share those with the National Electoral Council.

Maduro did provide some clues as to how the process will work. Communal councils will elect the 500 representatives who will help rewrite the constitution. In Maduro's words, workers, students and peasants, not Venezuela's political and economic elite, will lead the process. Former President Hugo Chavez created the councils as a way to shape public policy and channel local demands, especially in poor neighborhoods, to the national government.

The opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable has rejected Maduro's proposal and is calling for more protests against the government. It claims that the National Assembly, rather than Maduro, should lead the constitutional reform process and that Maduro is merely trying to buy himself time and maneuvering room to avoid having to call for general elections.

Regardless, Maduro's announcement does reveal that Caracas is more concerned about losing support in poorer pro-government neighborhoods — where food scarcity and looting are becoming more severe — than it is with opposition protests.