Caracas, December 15 (teleSUR-RHC)-- As part of the efforts by Venezuelan socialists and revolutionaries to implement strategies in response to the electoral defeat suffered in recent parliamentary elections, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has ordered military officers working in public administrative posts to return to their barracks.

"I have given an order to implement a thought-out and detailed plan (for members of the armed forces) who have gone into the public administration to provide their services to the homeland to return to active duty,” stated Maduro on Monday.

Maduro added that there would be some exceptions for those “who are strictly necessary will stay in the public administration, in key positions because of their work, their discipline and their capacity to obey orders.”

Since the presidency of late President Hugo Chavez, Maduro's predecessor, members of the armed forces have played an active role within the process known as the Bolivarian Revolution, in what the government described as a civic-military union.
      
Before entering politics, Chavez was a lieutenant-colonel in the Venezuelan Army. The armed forces also played a key role in preserving the constitution when loyal sectors rescued President Chavez after an attempted coup saw him kidnapped.

"The first 17 years of the revolution we needed the Bolivarian National Armed Forces to provide its professional cadres for the great tasks of the government and the state," said Maduro.

However, elements of the armed forces have been the subject of intense scrutiny and criticism by the grassroots of the revolution, who accuse some of perpetuating corruption.

Maduro's announcement is only the latest in a series he has made in light of the victory of the opposition in parliamentary elections on December 6th.  The opposition coalition, known as the MUD, secured a two-thirds majority in the country's unicameral parliament.

The president announced last week the findings of his party’s third Socialist Congress to protect the Bolivarian ideas and national sovereignty, which include a series of measures to tackle economic problems in the country.

The grassroots supporters of the revolution have also been heavily active in the wake of the electoral setback. Revolutionaries have been holding “street assemblies” to debate, exchange ideas, and strengthen the movement for socialism in Venezuela.