Presidency of Nicolás Maduro
On 14 April 2013, Nicolás Maduro was elected President of Venezuela, narrowly defeating opposition candidate Henrique Capriles with just a popular vote lead of 1.5%. Capriles immediately demanded a recount, refusing to recognize the outcome as valid. Maduro was later formally inaugurated as President on 19 April, after the election commission had promised a full audit of the election results. On 24 October 2013, he announced the creation of a new agency, the Vice Ministry of Supreme Happiness, to coordinate all the social programmes. On 3 January 2026, the United States captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife and the First Lady of Venezuela Cilia Flores in Caracas during the United States strike on Venezuela.
Rule by decree
Beginning six months after being elected, Maduro has ruled by decree for the majority of his presidency: from 19 November 2013 to 19 November 2014, 15 March 2015 to 31 December 2015, 15 January 2016 to present.2013–2014
In October 2013, Maduro requested an enabling law to rule by decree in order to fight corruption and to also fight what he called an "economic war" which had the goal of radically reducing poverty. Implementing price controls, wage controls, profit controls, and general economic restructuring. On 19 November 2013, the National Assembly granted Maduro the power to rule by decree until 19 November 2014.2015–2016
On 10 March 2015, Maduro asked to rule by decree for a second time following the sanctioning of seven Venezuelan officials by the United States, requesting the Enabling Law to be used to "confront" what Maduro called "the aggression of the most powerful country in the world, the United States". Days later on 15 March 2015, the National Assembly granted Maduro power to rule by decree until 31 December 2015.2016–2017
After a coalition of opposition parties won in the 6 December 2015 elections, the lame duck Assembly named 13 new Justices sympathetic toward Maduro to the Supreme Court. On 15 January 2016, Maduro declared an economic emergency and issued a "vaguely worded" decree that would grant himself extraordinary powers for 60 days, or until 15 March 2016. Days after on 18 March 2016, the expiration of the decree powers, the Supreme Court granted Maduro the power to rule by decree for an additional 60 days, or until 17 May 2016.Days before his second 60-day rule by decree were to end, Maduro stated on 11 May 2016 that he would continue to rule by decree through the rest of the year until 2017.
2017–2018
While meeting with the Supreme Tribunal of Justice on 15 January 2017, Maduro signed a new economic decree, extending his rule by decree for the sixth time since the original ruling in January 2016. On 19 January, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice established the "Decree on the State of Emergency and Economic Emergency", granting Maduro to rule by decree further into 2017.On 13 May 2017 at a time of rising unrest during the 2017 Venezuelan protests, President Maduro extended his decree powers for the eighth time since January 2016, allowing him to rule by decree for another 60 days. The powers were extended again on 13 July 2017 for an additional 60 days.
On 15 October, the Bolivarian government Great Patriotic Pole won 18 of the 23 governorships while the opposition only 5 during the 2017 Venezuelan regional elections.
On 10 December, the Bolivarian government Great Patriotic Pole won 306 of the 337 Mayorships during the 2017 Venezuelan municipal elections.
Cabinet of Maduro
Military authority
Maduro has relied on the military to maintain power since he was initially elected into office. According to Luis Manuel Esculpi, a Venezuelan security analyst, "The army is Maduro's only source of authority." As time passed, Maduro grew more reliant on the military, showing that Maduro was losing power as described by Amherst College professor, Javier Corrales. Corrales explains that "From 2003 until Chavez died in 2013, the civilian wing was strong, so he did not have to fall back on the military. As civilians withdrew their support, Maduro was forced to resort to military force." The New York Times states that Maduro no longer has the oil revenue to buy loyalty for protection, instead relying on favorable exchange rates, as well as the smuggling of food and drugs, which "also generate revenue".On 12 July 2016, Maduro granted Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López the power to oversee product transportation, price controls, the Bolivarian missions, while also having his military command five of Venezuela's main ports. This action performed by President Maduro made General Padrino one of the most powerful people in Venezuela, possibly "the second most powerful man in Venezuelan politics". The appointment of Padrino was also seen to be similar to the Cuban government's tactic of granting the Cuban military the power to manage Cuba's economy. It is the first time since the dictatorship of General Marcos Perez Jimenez in 1958 that a military official has held such power in Venezuela. According to Corrales, "For all of the ministers of the cabinet to have to respond to a soldier, this is associated with military dictatorships".
According to Nicolás Maduro:
Domestic policy
Maduro denies that Venezuela has been facing a humanitarian crisis. Maduro stuck to his predecessor Hugo Chávez's policies in order to remain popular to those who find a connection between the two. Despite the increasingly difficult crises facing Venezuela, such as a faltering economy and high crime rate, Maduro continued the use of Chávez's policies.After continuing Chávez's policies, Maduro's support among Venezuelans began to decrease, with Bloomberg explaining that he held on to power by placing opponents in jail and impeding upon Venezuela's freedom of press. According to Marsh, instead of making any policy changes, Maduro placed attention on his "hold on power by closing off the legal channels through which the opposition can act". Shannon K. O'Neil of the Council on Foreign Relations stated that "After Chavez's death, Maduro has just continued and accelerated the authoritarian and totalitarian policies of Chavez".
Regarding Maduro's ideology, Professor Ramón Piñango, a sociologist from the Venezuelan University of IESA, "Maduro has a very strong ideological orientation, close to the Communist ideology. Contrary to Diosdado, he is not very pragmatic". Maduro himself has stated that Venezuela must build a more socialist nation, highlighting that the country needs an economic overhaul, a political-military union and government involvement in the workplace.
Crime
One of the first important presidential programs of Maduro became the "Safe Homeland" program, a massive police and military campaign to build security in the country. Three thousand soldiers were deployed to decrease homicide in Venezuela, which has one of the highest rates of homicide in Latin America. Most of these troops were deployed in the state of Miranda, which has the highest homicide rate in Venezuela. According to the government, in 2012, more than 16,000 people were killed, a rate of 54 people per 100,000, although the Venezuela Violence Observatory, a Venezuelan NGO, claims that the homicide rate was in fact 73 people per 100,000. The program had to be reinitiated one year later after the program's creator, Miguel Rodríguez Torres, was replaced by Carmen Melendez Teresa Rivas. Murder also increased over the years since the program's initiation according to the Venezuela Violence Observatory, with the murder rate increasing to 82 per 100,000 in 2014. 23,047 homicides were committed in Venezuela in 2018, a rate of 81.4 per 100,000 people.Economic
When elected in 2013, Maduro continued the majority of existing economic policies of his predecessor Hugo Chávez. When entering the presidency, Maduro's Venezuela faced a high inflation rate and large shortages of goods that was left over from the previous administration of President Chávez.Maduro blamed wealthy businessmen for hoarding goods and speculation that is driving high rates of inflation and creating widespread shortages of staples, and often said he was fighting an "economic war", calling newly enacted economic measures "economic offensives" against political opponents he and loyalists state are behind an international economic conspiracy. However, Maduro has been criticized for only concentrating on public opinion instead of tending to the practical issues economists have warned the Venezuelan government about or creating any ideas to improve the economic situation in Venezuela such as the "economic war".
Venezuela was ranked as the top spot globally with the highest misery index score in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. In 2014, Venezuela's economy entered an economic depression that has continued as of 2017. Under Maduro's rule, GDP has approximately halved.
Military
Maduro has relied on the military to maintain power since he was initially elected into office. He has promised to make Venezuela a great power by 2050, stating that the Venezuelan military would lead the way to make the country "a powerhouse, of happiness, of equality".On 12 July 2016, Maduro granted Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López the power to oversee product transportation, price controls, the Bolivarian missions, while also having his military command five of Venezuela's main ports. This action performed by President Maduro made General Padrino one of the most powerful people in Venezuela, possibly "the second most powerful man in Venezuelan politics". The appointment of Padrino was also seen to be similar to the Cuban government's tactic of granting the Cuban military the power to manage Cuba's economy.
According to Nicolás Maduro:It was the first time since the dictatorship of General Marcos Pérez Jiménez in 1958 that a military official has held such power in Venezuela.