Opposition members kick and push a Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard barricade during a protest in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, April 1, 2017. Venezuela's president and Supreme Court backed down Saturday from an audacious move to strip congress of its legislative powers that had sparked widespread charges that the South American country was no longer a democracy. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Opposition members kick and push a Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard barricade during a protest in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, April 1, 2017. Venezuela's president and Supreme Court backed down Saturday from an audacious move to strip congress of its legislative powers that had sparked widespread charges that the South American country was no longer a democracy. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) Credit: ap — Fernando Llano

Caracas, Venezuela — On the instructions of President Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s top court on Saturday walked back its attempt to incapacitate the country’s opposition-controlled parliament, following widespread condemnation across the Americas.

Maduro, like the late Hugo Chavez before him, routinely lashes out at criticism from abroad, so Saturday’s reversal appeared to be a rare instance in which international pressure caused Venezuela’s leader to blink.

Maikel Moreno, the president of Venezuela’s highest court, said in a statement that the court had not intended to “undermine” the country’s stability when it essentially stripped lawmakers of their powers this week, accusing them of acting in contempt of prior court rulings.

That ruling brought international criticism raining down, as neighboring countries yanking their ambassadors from Caracas in protest.

Appearing surprised at the vehemence of the response, Maduro attempted to characterize the controversy as a dispute between different branches of government and proof of the country’s separation of powers.

In reality, Maduro has loaded the court with loyalists, and the episode seemed to offer further evidence of the degree to which judges abide by his orders. Maduro’s critics say he has used the court as a blunt instrument to block any attempt to check his power or put the country on a different course.

The court’s announcement on Saturday came hours after Maduro convened a midnight meeting of his national security council. He told the court to revise its previous decision stripping lawmakers of their powers, declaring “the controversy has been overcome.”

Saturday’s ruling reinstated the National Assembly’s legislative powers, but it was not a complete reversal. It grants Maduro new powers to enter into joint-venture business investments and oil projects with foreign partners, deals that are supposed to require lawmakers’ approval.

That decision may reveal the true purpose for the attempted power grab. With a nearly $3 billion debt service payment due in less than two weeks and oil prices slumping again, Maduro’s government has been in negotiations for a cash infusion from the Russian state oil company Rosneft, according to Reuters. Saturday’s court ruling means Venezuela’s legislature would have no power to stop such a deal.

The court has systematically blocked Maduro’s opponents from passing new laws for more than a year, and there was no indication in Saturday’s ruling that the judges would relent.

Maduro’s opponents are hardly placated, calling him and his administration a “circus” that reflects a broader erosion of democratic norms and a government drowning from incompetence.

“The grave situation we’re living through in Venezuela remains the same. There is nothing to ‘clarify’ when it comes to respecting the constitution,” said Henrique Capriles, who narrowly lost to Maduro.