Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela, is anticipated to declare on Saturday that he will run for a third term in elections on July 28. His 11 years in office have been characterized by economic collapse, sanctions, and allegations of extensive persecution.
The ruling PSUV has declared that it will formally declare its candidate on Saturday for the elections, which have eliminated Maduro’s principal opponent, who is now leading in polls.
Within the “Chavista” movement, which has been in power for 25 years and is named after the president’s well-liked predecessor Hugo Chavez, there had been no threat to the 61-year-old Maduro.
Since 2013, Maduro has presided over severe economic crisis, worsened by US sanctions, that has seen seven million people flee the country as GDP plummeted by 80 percent in a decade.
“I know that we have had it hard… but what will come, from now to 2030, is progress,” Maduro vowed this week at a political rally in Carupano in Venezuela’s east.
Maduro has held on to power through a system of political patronage, and with backing from the military, and three key foreign allies: Cuba, Russia and China. He has consolidated power over parliament, the judiciary and other state institutions, while jailing and neutralizing critics and challengers.
Leader of the opposition Maria Corina Machado, who polls indicate would defeat the president in a fair contest, has been disqualified by judges allied with Maduro on the grounds that she supported Western sanctions on the dictatorship and was accused of corruption, accusations that are largely discounted as baseless.
She cannot serve in public office for fifteen years, and neither can Henrique Capriles, the man who is generally seen as her obvious successor and a two-time presidential contender.
