Since Chavez appointed Maduro as his natural successor, many Venezuelan politicians assumed Maduro would easily become president. However, this was not the case. After Hugo Chavez’s death, Nicolás Maduro came to power through an unexpectedly close election in April 2013. He is a member of the political party founded by Hugo Chavez, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. Henrique Capriles, Maduro’s opponent, never conceded because of the many doubts regarding the legitimacy of the election. Ever since this election, Maduro has struggled in living in the shadow of Hugo Chavez. President Maduro is facing a series of obstacles including: infrastructure breakdowns, electricity shortages, extreme inflation, scarcity of essential consumer items, violent street crime, and an overvalued currency. The Maduro administration’s excessive spending on social programs, alienation of the private sector, corruption, lack of investment in infrastructure and oil production has put the country in a precarious position.
Currently, Venezuela is in a crippling economic crisis that has led to a lack of basic goods and high food prices. President Maduro claims that the economic crisis is the result of a US-backed capitalist conspiracy. President Maduro also claims that the opposition is conspiring with foreign entities, specifically the United States, to destabilise Venezuela. On March 30th, 2017, the political turmoil in Venezuela reached its peak. Venezuela’s Supreme Court magistrate sided with President Nicolás Maduro, and decreed that it would take over the opposition-led Congress’ legislative powers. Opposition parties saw this as a move to establish a dictatorship. This move by the Supreme Court magistrate set off a series of protests throughout Venezuela. Security forces violently controlled the protests that occurred the day after this decision. Although the court quickly reversed its decision, protests have continued.
Unlike Chavez, Maduro has been unable to establish a strong bond with the chavistas of Venezuela (supporters of Hugo Chavez). Since this bond has not been re-established, Maduro has resorted to authoritarianism and maintaining an offensive attitude in spite of deteriorating economic conditions in Venezuela. One example of Maduro’s authoritarianism is his actions in November 2013. Maduro ordered the National Guard to invade electronic and retail stores and force shopkeepers to sell their products at highly discounted prices (in some cases up to 70% off). Looting broke out in some of the locations. Even members of the National Guard began looting. This extreme reaction from the Venezuelan people was no surprise since the country’s inflation rate had risen by 50% in the past year. Maduro then targeted the automobile industry and landlords in the same way. He pledged to lower car prices and rents. Aware of the unrest in the country, Maduro even called for the creation of a ministry of happiness. This was criticized as a highly political move to attempt to cover the instability in Venezuela. Consumers are currently paying dearly for the government’s continued war on the private sector. Capital continues to flee the country, the black market flourishes, and supermarket shelves are empty. Venezuela is suffering and faces an uncertain future.