Luis Eduardo Parra Rivero (born 7 July 1978) is a Venezuelan politician who was in a dispute with Juan Guaidó for a year over who was the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela based on a vote on 5 January 2020.
The investigative journalism website Armando.info reported in 2019 that Parra was among nine lawmakers that mediated in favor of two businessmen linked with the government, and was accused of being involved in corruption with the Local Committees for Supply and Production (CLAP) program of the Nicolás Maduro government. After the investigation was published, Parra was expelled from his party Justice First, along with other deputies.
Parra is currently subjected to foreign sanctions for his involvement in the 2020 Venezuelan National Assembly Delegated Committee election.
Political career
Luis Parra is a native of Yaracuy elected to represent its second circuit in the 2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election on the list of the victorious Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD). Prior to holding office, he was an opposition student activist in Yaracuy and host of regional radio program “Más Claro no Canta un Gallo” broadcast by Rumbera Network. In 2005 he was a substitute councilor in the Independencia Municipality, Yaracuy. In 2013, he was a candidate for mayor of Independencia. In the 2017 Venezuelan regional elections, he stood as the MUD candidate for the governorship of Yaracuy, losing to the ruling party candidate, Julio César León Heredia. He served as president of the Commission for the Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change between 2018 and 2019.
CLAP affair
On 1 December 2019, the website Armando.info published an investigation reporting that nine parliamentarians mediated in favor of two businessmen linked with the government. Parra was accused of being involved in corruption with the Local Committees for Supply and Production (CLAP) program of the Nicolás Maduro government. Parra denied the accusations, saying “There is a smear campaign against us and some of our fellow legislators in the Venezuelan parliament”, and describing himself as a victim of “extortion.”
After the investigation was published, the deputies Parra, José Brito, Conrado Pérez and José Gregorio Noriega were suspended and expelled from their parties Justice First and Popular Will. Parra, Brito and Pérez objected to their expulsion and filed a case before Venezuela's Supreme Tribunal of Justice, in which they petitioned the court to have their party membership reinstated.
Parliamentary crisis
On 5 January 2020, the 2020 Venezuelan National Assembly Delegated Committee election took place to determine who would be the President of the National Assembly for the period 2020-21 period, the last election of the IV legislature.
On the morning of the election, Parra announced his candidacy to the presidency of the National Assembly by surprise, against the incumbent president Juan Guaidó. Parra–who was previously barred from access to the legislative chambers–was granted access to the legislative palace while others of the opposition (to Maduro) were blocked at the entrance. Parra was joined by National Assembly deputies loyal to Maduro. In a chaotic scene, a hand vote was hastily taken and Parra was declared president. Opposition media said that only 18 former members of the opposition (known as “la bancada Clap”, the CLAP bench) supported Parra. The opposition reported that quorum was not achieved and no votes were counted. Police forces blocked the access to parliament to opposition members and media. A separate session was carried out outside parliament where 100 of the 167 deputies re-elected Juan Guaidó as president of the parliament.
Parra told reporters 140 lawmakers were present in the session and that his candidacy was approved with 81 votes. Ruling party deputy Pedro Carreño told AFP that the vote took place with 150 deputies present and that Parra received the simple majority of 84 needed to win. Nicolás Maduro recognized Parra as the new president of the National Assembly, saying that "there was a rebellion inside the National Assembly" and that "the National Assembly has made a decision".
Regarding the controversy of the opposition attempting to enter the Palacio Federal Legislativo, Maduro said "if the failed Guaidó did not want to enter it was because he did not have the votes", dismissing that Guaidó and his supporters were prevented from entering. When reporters asked Parra for the official tally of votes–usually released the same day–he said that it "was not available" and there is not announced date for its release. Guaidó called Parra a “pseudo deputy” who had “betrayed the nation.”