Venezuela opposition holds primaries for high-stakes parliament vote

Venezuela's opposition coalition held primaries on Sunday for this year's high-stakes parliamentary election, its best shot in over a decade at recouping the National Assembly at one of the ruling Socialist Party's lowest ebbs. With Venezuela in recession, annual inflation possibly heading to triple digits, basic goods from milk to medicines running short and crime rates sky-high, government candidates may face a backlash. But the perpetually fragmented MUD umbrella coalition has struggled to articulate policy proposals and shake an elitist aura, so Sunday's low-profile primaries were largely a show of mobilization against President Nicolas Maduro. More…