The National Assembly is a one-chamber institution that exercises the legislative power of Venezuela by constitutional mandate. It is made up of 167 seats, which are renewed every five years. On January 5, 2016, its current constitutional period 2016-2021 began. Its president is Juan Guaidó. The opposition is in the majority, holding 114 seats. The ruling party has the remaining 53 seats. In March 2017, the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) issued a ruling announcing it would assume the powers of the National Assembly and declared its actions null and void on the grounds that the institution was in “contempt” of previous rulings of the court for alleged irregularities.

On the other hand, the Constituent National Assembly, tasked with drafting a new constitution for Venezuela, was created by Nicolás Maduro through Presidential Decree 2830 on May 1, 2017. On July 30, elections were held to choose its 545 members, but both the results and official data on voter turnout were controversial. It was finally formally constituted August 4, 2017, with a two-year mandate. Since June 14, 2018, its president has been Diosdado Cabello. The members of the Lima Group, the European Union, the Organization of American States, MERCOSUR and UNASUR all regard as illegitimate the steps and actions leading up to the constitution of the Constituent National Assembly.