Socialists reign ends in Venezuela. In the last two decades for the first time the parliamentary elections have been won by the opposition.

The Alliance of Conservatives and Centrists are expected to take 112. places in legislature. Socialists will get only about 50 seats

A small opposition majority in the new 167-seat National Assembly would create only minor inconveniences for Maduro, such as denying him a budget for foreign travel and having committees scrutinize the executive"s record. Some hardliners are also vowing to seek a recall referendum to cut short Maduro"s term before it ends in 2019.

But reining in Maduro, who became president after Chavez died in 2013, would require new laws needing at least a three-fifths majority, or 101 seats — two more than now held by the socialists. Maduro"s near-complete grip on other branches of government like the Supreme Court mean he can easily outflank a hostile congress.