Under a tent decorated in the yellow, blue and red of Venezuela’s flag, members of the ruling socialist party mingled and drank at a sporting event recently with opposition critics, former gang members, military and businessmen. It was an idyllic vision of unity in the most polarised country in Latin America, but one that belies the fact that Venezuela is heading towards a political crisis. A stand-off between branches of government looms just as the country is struggling with one of its worst ever social and economic calamities. “We’re facing a large-scale crisis, a counter-revolutionary crisis, that is going to generate a power struggle,” President Nicolás Maduro warned on Saturday in a speech to the military. Forces loyal to Mr Maduro have responded to defeat in legislative elections this month with defiant words and executive action aimed at clinging on to power. Defeated lawmakers plan to appoint a group of new judges to Venezuela’s Supreme Court who will be able to veto laws passed by the opposition.