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Venezuela’s far-left leader Nicolás Maduro took office after his mentor Hugo Chávez in 2013.
In the 2015 elections, for the first time in 17 years, his socialist party PSUV lost the majority in the National Assembly. This meant that the government and parliament were controlled by two different camps that are political opponents.
To round off the situation, in August 2017, Maduro made a contentious election for a new legislative assembly that was also empowered to rewrite the Constitution.
Maduro then announced that the presidential elections would be scheduled for May 2018 and there he was declared victorious. Participation was low as much of the opposition boycotted it. The election has been deemed unfair by much of the world, and both the United States and the EU have imposed sanctions on Venezuela.
On January 23, 2019, the president of the original National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, called the country’s interim president, citing that Maduro’s presidential mandate could not be considered legitimate.
Guaidó was immediately recognized by the United States and in a few weeks more than 50 countries recognized him as the legitimate leader of the country.
Maduro describes Guaidó as a puppet controlled by the United States and his claim as a coup. Maduro has been able to lean economically against Russia and China.
A UN report in early July showed that armed groups loyal to the Maduro government killed nearly 7,000 people between January 2018 and May 2019.
An estimated four million people, more than a tenth of Venezuela’s population, fled the country, which has long been devastated by a deep economic crisis.
Attempts to mediate between Venezuelan parties have so far been unsuccessful.
Source: Country Guide / UI
