Nicolás Maduro

Nicolas Maduro is married to Cilia Flores, a lawyer and politician. She had replaced him as the President of the National Assembly after his resignation in 2006. Even though the two had been romantically involved since the 1990s, their marriage took place in July 2013.

Maduro has a son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, whom he has appointed in several senior government posts, including Chief of Presidency’s Special Inspector’s Body, and head of the National Film School.

Nicolás Maduro Moros was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on 23 November 1962. His father was Nicolás Maduro Garcia, a leftist trade union leader, while his mother was Teresa de Jesus Moros. He was raised as Roman Catholic. He has three sisters Maria Teresa, Josefina, and Anita.

He attended a public school named Liceo José Ávalos. He showed signs of following in his father’s footsteps by getting involved with the Student Union at the school, soon becoming its president. He formed an early interest in politics as well. He did not complete his schooling and started working after dropping out.

Nicolás Maduro initially worked for several years as a bus driver, after having found employment with the Caracas Metro company. His political career began in the 1980s, after he formed an informal labor syndicate to represent the bus drivers of the company. Later, he was also employed as a bodyguard by José Vicente Rangel during his presidential campaign.

During the early 1990s, he joined the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement- 200, also known as the MBR-200. He campaigned for the release of Hugo Chávez when the latter was in prison due to his revolutionary actions.

In 1998, Maduro was elected to the Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies on the MVR ticket. Later, in 2000, he was elected to the National Assembly as an MP. In 2005, he was elected to the role of Speaker.

The following year, Maduro was appointed as the Foreign Minister, though he didn’t speak any foreign languages. The stances of his foreign policy included support for Libya, which at that time, was under Dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s rule.

Maduro held the role of Foreign Minister till he was appointed as the Vice President of Venezuela, after Hugo Chavez won the presidential election in 2012. Two months later, Chavez, who had a history of cancer, announced that his cancer had returned, and stated that should his condition worsen, Maduro would be the one to succeed him as he had proven himself to be a capable leader.

The ‘Safe Homeland’ program was one of the most significant programs launched during Maduro’s rule. It was a massive police and military campaign to build security in the country as it had one of the highest rates of homicides in Latin America. According to the government, the program reduced homicide rates by 55%. However, the Venezuela Violence Observatory stated that the crime rate actually increased under the Maduro government.

Maduro continued the majority of his predecessor’s economic policies. He received criticism as during his rule the country faced a high inflation rate, as well as shortages of goods. Maduro, in turn, put the blame on capitalism, and said that he was fighting an economic war. However, his words were criticized to be impractical. The country stood at the top spot globally with the highest misery index in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

The nation’s economy entered a recession in 2014. China, being Venezuela’s second largest trade partner, provided economic assistance in form of billions of dollars in loans. However, it was believed that China was actually investing for strategic reasons, rather than for ideological similarities. To add to Venezuela’s woes, the diplomatic relations with American worsened during Maduro’s rule, and Venezuela was declared by the US as a threat to its security.