How long has Nicolás Maduro been president of Venezuela?

Elections will be held on Sunday, July 28, in Venezuela, a Latin American country. On the ballot is incumbent President Nicolás Maduro, who took over after the death of Venezuelan revolutionary Hugo Chavez. Maduro is the inheritor of Chavismo, Hugo Chavez’s political ideology, though opposition groups often question his commitment to its ideals. Among world leaders, Maduro is among the most divisive, with a strong base of support within the country and many citizens living abroad who view the Maduro regime as despotic and authoritarian.

A look at past elections

Hugo Chavez passed away in 2013, and in an election held that year, Maduro secured a slim victory. The legitimacy of the election was not questioned, though that held a few years later in 2018 would be denounced as fraudulent by the United States, various Latin American governments, and the European Union. The Venezuelan government denied any such allegations, but with little ability of election observers to understand how the election unfolded, the presence and scale of fraud are impossible to independently evaluate.

If the current polls conducted in the country are accurate, Maduro’s opposition is expected to sweep on Sunday, with the surveys of voters showing that only around 12.5 percent of the voting public stands with him. Whether or not Maduro will accept defeat if such a result materializes is another question. Additionally, the public backlash that he could face if fraudulent tactics are deployed is another question, as is how the regime would deal with those expressions from its citizens.

Worsening conditions in Venezuela

In the years following his rise to power, Venezuela would see harsh economic sanctions imposed on the country’s economy, which have led to significant decreases in the quality of life for the average Venezuelan. The country has been accused of committing serious human rights abuses, including the repression of political opposition. Coupled with the devastating economic conditions, many citizens have sought refuge elsewhere. Since 2014, the Congressional Research Service estimates that 7.7 million people have left the country in search of better opportunities. Opponents of the Maduro regime see Sunday’s election as an opportunity for the politics of the country to be taken in a more right-ward direction and thus will be able to begin lifting the harsh sanctions that have been imposed on the economy. Improving the economic conditions would decrease the migratory pressure within the country, which would help limit the border security issue for leaders in Washington.