Nine months in Venezuela: timeline of crisis

In nine months, Venezuela has steadily plunged into a deep economic and political crisis linked to plummeting oil prices and constant clashes between the government and opposition.

Here is a timeline of key moments since the start of 2016:

- Opposition majority -

- January 5: The opposition takes control of the National Assembly legislature from the socialist leadership for the first time in more than 16 years after winning elections.

It vows to drive President Nicolas Maduro from office and rescue Venezuela from economic chaos driven by plunging oil prices.

But the Supreme Court has so far blocked every one of its bills.

- January 15: Maduro decrees a 60-day state of "economic emergency." It allows the government to seize assets of private companies to obtain essential food and goods.

- March 8: The opposition launches bid for a recall referendum. If it happens by January 10, 2017 and Maduro loses, new elections will be held. Otherwise, he can pass power to his vice president.

- State of emergency -

- May 3: The opposition presents 1.85 million signatures demanding a referendum -- nearly 10 times the number needed to proceed to the next stage.

- May 14: Maduro declares a fresh three-month state of emergency to tackle "threats from abroad."

- Road to referendum -

- June 8: The electoral authorities validate 1.3 million signatures in favor of a referendum, opening the way to the next stage of the process, under which at least 200,000 of the signatories have to confirm their choice in person.

- July 10: Thousands of people cross the border to Colombia on foot to buy foodstuffs and medicines. Venezuelans are confronted with long queues to buy basic necessities at increasingly empty shops, with 2016 inflation estimated at 475 percent by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Venezuela also has one of the highest crime rates in the world.

- August 1: The electoral council confirms 399,412 signatures needed to pursue a referendum bid. On August 9, it schedules the next petition step for late October, putting a January 10 referendum virtually out of reach.

- September 1: Hundreds of thousands of protesters rally in Caracas demanding a swift referendum. Maduro supporters stage a counter-demonstration.

- Referendum stalled -

- September 22: The electoral commission announces that the referendum will not take place before January 2017, thwarting the opposition's hopes of a change in government.

- October 21: Alleging fraud, the commission suspends the signature-collection drive for a referendum, further crippling the opposition campaign. The judicial authorities ban eight opposition leaders from leaving the country.