whats happening in venezuela rigth now

Venezuela's capital, Caracas, has seen almost daily demonstrations in recent weeks, some of which have turned violent.

Critics are accusing President Nicolas Maduro of moving towards a dictatorship, and want him to resign.

But Maduro says the opposition is conspiring with foreign entities, specifically the US, to destabilise the country. Clashes broke out on Wednesday in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, where hundreds of thousands of people held rival protests amid rising tensions over the country's political crisis. Security forces fired tear gas at anti-government demonstrators, accusing Maduro of eroding democracy and plunging the economy into chaos.

Protesters in Venezuela have renewed nationwide anti-government rallies to pressure President Nicolas Maduro to step down, a day after three people were killed in similar demonstrations dubbed by the opposition as the "mother of all marches".

"I went out today, as many other Venezuelans, because we want to restore the constitutional order, we went out for the political prisoners, because we want the government to call for elections, we want the autonomy of the National Assembly," protester Sandra Vanessa told Al Jazeera.

1. How did the protests start?

Instability and political turmoil reached a peak on March 30, when Venezuela's Supreme Court magistrates, aligned with socialist President Nicolas Maduro, ruled that it will take over the opposition-led Congress' legislative powers, in a move condemned by opposition parties as an attempt to install a dictatorship.

In January 2016, the Supreme Court suspended the elections of four legislators - three that were enrolled with the opposition and one with the ruling party - for alleged voting irregularities.

The opposition accused the court of trying to strip them of their super-majority, and went ahead and swore in three of the legislators in question.

In response, the Supreme Court ruled that the entire National Assembly was in contempt and all decisions it made would be null.

The deadlock continued, when electoral officials suspended a stay-or-go referendum against Maduro and postponed regional elections until 2017.

After the National Assembly refused to approve the country's state-run oil company, PDVSA ,from forming joint ventures with private companies, the government went to the Supreme Court, which ruled that it will take over the opposition-led Congress' legislative powers.

Security forces violently repressed protests that broke out the next day, and although the court quickly reversed its decision, street protests have continued