Who is Venezuela’s New President, Nicolas Maduro?

Nicolás Maduro became president of Venezuela on July 29, 2024, amid anger over government policies and a number of irregularities in Venezuela’s elections. He received about 51% of the vote, defeating Edmundo González.

This proved to be an important victory as this was Maduro’s third term as president.

Nicolás Maduro was born on November 23, 1962, in a modest family in Caracas, Venezuela. He is the leader of Venezuela and won the special election held in 2013 to elect the person who would succeed Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to complete the remaining term. In March 2013, Hugo Chavez died.

Look at the life of Nicolás Maduro.

The journey so far

Maduro served as vice president and labor leader before becoming president and became interim president after Chavez’s death.

Chavez founded the ideology and political system of Chavismo, and Maduro is an advocate of Chavismo. He was successfully elected in a special election of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela to replace Chavez. In 2018, he was re-elected.

Maduro’s authoritarian rule has forced the opposition to make a huge effort to oust him.

early life

Nicolás Maduro grew up in Caracas, where his father was involved in the labor movement and left-wing politics. Gradually, Maduro became increasingly interested in left-wing politics. This growing interest led him to choose to train as an organizer in Cuba rather than pursue a university education.

Maduro worked as a bus driver in Galacos and became a representative of the bus workers’ union, where he gradually rose through the ranks.

Maduro campaigned for Chávez’s release, along with his future wife, Celia Flores, after Chávez was captured in 1992 while serving as a military officer. He had staged an attempted coup.

In early 1999, Maduro was a member of the National Constituent Assembly. In the same year, he also served in the Chamber of Deputies. The Chamber of Deputies was abolished when the legislature became the unicameral National Assembly. Maduro began serving in the Chamber of Deputies in 2000.

He was subsequently re-elected in 2005. Maduro served as president of the body until 2006, when he became foreign minister. He worked to advance the goals of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, which seeks to strengthen political, economic and social integration in Latin America. It also sought to weaken the influence of the United States in the region. In addition, he helped Venezuela establish friendly relations with Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran.

Soon, while Chavez’s popularity within the government began to rise, his health began to deteriorate. In 2011, Maduro became vice president.

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