Defying pressure from abroad and at home, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro said today that an election would go ahead next weekend for a controversial new congress his foes fear will institutionalize dictatorship.<br/><br/>Venezuela's opposition has been protesting in the streets since April against the unpopular Maduro whom they accuse of wrecking the OPEC nation's economy and crushing democracy. Opponents are boycotting the Constituent Assembly vote, which they see as a farce designed to ensure a majority for a government with minority popular support, and demanding instead conventional free elections including for a new president. <br/><br/>The European Union and major Latin American nations have also stated their opposition to the constituent body, which will have power to rewrite Venezuela's 1999 constitution and override other institutions. Opposition leaders are planning a week of protests, including a two-day national strike on Wednesday and Thursday and a big protest march on Friday, to try to force Maduro's hand. He says they are "terrorists" working for Washington to try to control Venezuela's oil.