AKIPRESS.COM - Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaido proclaimed himself interim president and denounces Nicolás Maduro as an illegitimate usurper.

The United States and most Latin American nations have recognized Guaido as head of state, though he has no control over the state’s functions, which remain loyal to Maduro.

The 35-year-old Guaido seeks to lead an interim government that would call free elections. Maduro accuses him of staging a coup, Reuters reports.

Wednesday’s protest was the first major anti-Maduro march since 2017, when 125 people died during months of clashes with riot police. The opposition spent 2018 riven with infighting and marches in Caracas attracted at most a few thousand people.

Unlike previous protests, which drew a mainly middle-class crowd, Wednesday’s march attracted Venezuelans from all walks of life. On Monday, a brief military revolt sparked protests in lower income neighborhoods that used to be a stronghold of government support.

Many poor Venezuelans now live without running water and endure frequent power outages. State-subsidized food handouts, known as CLAP boxes, arrive ever more intermittently and wages worth a few dollars a month barely cover a single day’s shopping.

“We’re tired of the same shit, living off a CLAP box. It’s not possible, your wage isn’t enough,” said a protester on Wednesday, a mask covering his face and his hands clasping chunks of concrete. He declined to give his name.

At a pro-Maduro march in Caracas on Wednesday, organizers handed out packages of food - a croissant, some juice and an orange - to several thousand attendees, many of them state employees wearing red shirts emblazoned with their departments’ name. Several people in attendance said Guaido presented no viable alternative to Maduro and expressed worries of U.S. meddling.

Opposition organizers say they want to avoid the violence that characterized the 2017 protests, although some demonstrators on Wednesday lobbed projectiles and burned vehicles. Local rights groups say 14 people have been killed so far this week across the country.

Fighting with police allows Maduro to crack down and tar protesters as trouble-makers, organizers said, adding that violence deters older people and families from attending.

At one point during the protest on Altamira plaza, a crowd walked towards a group of police officers on motorbikes, their arms outstretched, chanting “Freedom,” until they were face-to-face. The police withdrew and the crowd celebrated.

“When we used violence, people returned home afraid and angry,” said Nelson Alvarez, an organizer from Caracas’ eastern La Urbina neighborhood. “This time, people returned home with a sense of accomplishment.”