Punches thrown in Venezuela parliament
China Daily | Updated: 2011-02-12 07:32
CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan lawmakers exchanged punches in parliament on Thursday when a fight erupted between members of President Hugo Chavez's socialist party and rivals, in a sign of the OPEC member nation's political polarization.
The fighting began after Socialist party lawmaker Henry Ventura tried to remove opposition member Alfonso Marquina from the speaker's podium. They were soon joined by several other lawmakers and parliamentary employees who shoved and punched one another for several minutes.
No one was hurt in the melee. It was not clear who started the fisticuffs.
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