Nicolas Maduro and Venezuelan politics

MIKE ARAYUWA WILKIE

Nicolas Maduro became President of Venezuela in 2013 after his victory at the polls, but not as convincing as the emphatic endorsement of Hugo Chavez, who was his predecessor in office. It is only fair to stress that he narrowly won. Prior to his ascendency to political power, Maduro enlisted as a member of the Socialist League, and worked as a bus driver for the Caracas Metro Company. He founded one of the company’s first informal Labour union at a time when all legitimate trade unions were proscribed in the Metro company.
In the early 1990s, he became a member of the MBR-200, the civilian wing of Chavez’s Military Movement. The movement campaigned for the prompt release of Hugo Chavez, who was sent to prison after the aborted 1992 coup. Maduro played a prominent role in the Chavista Political Movement which gave birth to the movement of the Fifth Republic under which Chavez ran for president in 1998 and won. In 1999, he was a member of the committee which drafted a new constitution for the country. He later became a deputy at the National Assembly till the year 2000 and became president of the Legislative Body thereafter.
In 2006, Chavez appointed Maduro as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. As a former Labour Aristocrat, he had the incredible negotiating abilities and a strong popular base. According to Vladimir Villegas, his time in diplomacy polished and gave him the required exposure which assisted him to perform wonderfully as a diplomat. As a long-time friend of the Castros, it was feared that he will strengthen the country’s pro-Cuba ties. Javier Corroles, a professor of political science at Amherst College in the United States is of the opinion that, “Maduro is the Revolution’s most convinced leftist, anti-imperialist radical, soft-spoken and conciliatory.” He is the architect of the remarkable turnaround of relations with Columbia in the last two years.
Nicolas Maduro was made the Deputy President by the sickly Chavez shortly before the President flew to Cuba for an emergency cancer surgery. In December 2012, Chavez formally endorsed Maduro as his hair apparent. He said: “My firm opinion, as clear as the full moon-irrevocable, absolute, total, is that, you elect Nicolas Maduro as President.”
Chavez further said: “I ask this of you from my heart. He is one of the young leaders with the greatest ability to continue, if I cannot.” His election as President was therefore not surprising. He was also backed by Diosdado Cabello, speaker of the House, who equally had close relations with the country’s military. Result of the presidential election had shown that Maduro defeated his closest opponent with 1.7%.
The aftermath of the election drew to attention widespread protests across the length and breadth of the country. Again, on May 21, 2017, protesters took to the streets to mark 50 days of protests against the President. The background of the 200,000 march protest stemmed from the fact that students demanded increased security after a female alleged that there was an attempted rape on her. Venezuela has the fifth highest murder rate in the world. The wave of crime is equally rife in many urban areas.
According to the students, there was a high record of inflation which stood at 56.2%, coupled with the shortages of basic food items. With effect from November 7, 2016, political tension had again started to announce its presence. The protests which lasted for a total of 50 days was intended to force Maduro out of power. He had been accused of authoritarianism with conventional media which branded him as a dictator. In spite of these allegations, the President still maintain power through loyal political organs, such as the supreme court, electoral authority as well as the military.
According to Professor Ramon Pinango, a sociologist from the Venezuelan University of IESA, “Maduro has a very strong ideological orientation, close to the communist ideology. Contrary to Disdado, he is not very pragmatic.” Fundamentally, there is poverty and extreme hunger in Venezuela which has bubbled over into the streets. Political analysts are of the view that the situation might get worsened in the weeks ahead. The protesters actually used the occasion to demand a referendum to oust the President from office. The immediate course was Maduro’s blockage of a proposed referendum on October 20, 2016.
In the process of the massive protests, 73 of the protesters were severely injured as a result of their confrontation with the security apparatus of state. This scenario made the Vatican to intercede between the president and his opponents in order to head-off additional violence and protests. The country’s economy which largely depend on crude oil and gas has started to dwindle since 2014. Inflation grows at 8% per year, while the inflation rate for 2016 was 481.52%. The year 2017 witnessed 1.642%. Consequently, Venezuela has increased a minimum of four times including the recent 40 minimum wage increase to approximately 91,000 bolivars.
In these circumstances, it is quite obvious that the long-term outcome of Venezuela’s political disturbances will be above the competence and manipulation of Nicolas Maduro. It will rather be in the interest of the president to step-aside to enable Venezuela to regain its past stability and glory.