Editing Politics of Venezuela

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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Politics of Venezuela}}
The '''politics of Venezuela''' are conducted under what is nominally a [[Federalism|federal]] [[presidential republic]], but is in practice an authoritarian system of government.<ref name=":5">{{Citation |title="Chávez Vete Ya": The Erosion of Democracy in Venezuela |date=2022 |work=Resisting Backsliding: Opposition Strategies against the Erosion of Democracy |pages=98–128 |editor-last=Gamboa |editor-first=Laura |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/resisting-backsliding/chavez-vete-ya-the-erosion-of-democracy-in-venezuela/8A32EBE5784D74ACEFE274F8BD12CC70 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781009164085.004 |isbn=978-1-009-16408-5 |quote=Up until the 1990s, Venezuela was one of the longest-running and most stable uninterrupted liberal democracies in Latin America. Today, it is an authoritarian regime. In nineteen years, Hugo Chávez and his successor, Nicolás Maduro, managed to destroy the system of checks and balances, end free and fair elections, and terminate political rights and civil liberties. The government has delayed and canceled elections, circumvented the authority of the elected legislature, imprisoned political opponents without trial, used lethal force against protesters, and banned opposition parties.}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Citation |last=Roberts |first=Kenneth M. |title=Populism and democracy in Venezuela under Hugo Chávez |date=2012 |work=Populism in Europe and the Americas: Threat or Corrective for Democracy? |pages=136–159 |editor-last=Mudde |editor-first=Cas |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/populism-in-europe-and-the-americas/populism-and-democracy-in-venezuela-under-hugo-chavez/FA3183273C9744A9A70FE4EBF71EB826 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/cbo9781139152365.008 |isbn=978-1-107-02385-7 |editor2-last=Rovira Kaltwasser |editor2-first=Cristóbal}}</ref><ref name="vdem_dataset">{{cite web |last=V-Dem Institute |date=2023 |title=The V-Dem Dataset |url=https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |access-date=14 October 2023}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite news |date=2012-09-19 |title=Venezuela profile - Timeline |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-19652436 |access-date=2024-05-30 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> Prior to the early 1990s, Venezuela was considered an unusually long-standing and stable [[liberal democracy]] in Latin America, having transitioned to democracy in 1958.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last=Mainwaring |first=Scott |date=2012 |title=From Representative Democracy to Participatory Competitive Authoritarianism: Hugo Chávez and Venezuelan Politics |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/abs/from-representative-democracy-to-participatory-competitive-authoritarianism-hugo-chavez-and-venezuelan-politics/C6BD75833B90AA310B02A6EEF29BA10E |journal=Perspectives on Politics |language=en |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=955–967 |doi=10.1017/S1537592712002629 |issn=1537-5927}}</ref> According to the [[V-Dem Democracy indices]] Venezuela was in 2023 the third least [[Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean|electoral democratic country in Latin America]].<ref name="vdem_dataset" /><ref name=":7" />

After the victory of socialist populist [[Hugo Chávez]] in the [[1998 Venezuelan presidential election|1998 presidential election]], Venezuela gradually underwent [[democratic backsliding]] before transitioning to an authoritarian system of government where political and civil rights are not protected, and elections are not free and fair.<ref>{{Citation |title=Democratic Erosion in Venezuela, Representative Democracy in Brazil |date=2017 |work=State Crisis in Fragile Democracies: Polarization and Political Regimes in South America |pages=136–172 |editor-last=Handlin |editor-first=Samuel |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/state-crisis-in-fragile-democracies/democratic-erosion-in-venezuela-representative-democracy-in-brazil/8B5F1378F6A56DC11B68153BDDBC18D2 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781108233682.005 |isbn=978-1-108-41542-2}}</ref><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Corrales |first=Javier |date=2015 |title=The Authoritarian Resurgence: Autocratic Legalism in Venezuela |url=https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/the-authoritarian-resurgence-autocratic-legalism-in-venezuela/ |website=Journal of Democracy |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Boersner |first=Adriana |date=2021 |title=The Path Toward Authoritarianism in Venezuela |url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199756223/obo-9780199756223-0286.xml |website=Oxford Bibliographies |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Corrales |first=Javier |title=Venezuela's Autocratization, 1999–2021 |date=2024 |work=When Democracy Breaks |pages=327–350 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197760789.003.0012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/oso/9780197760789.003.0012 |isbn=978-0-19-776078-9}}</ref> Under Chávez's rule and later under the rule of his successor [[Nicolás Maduro]], power has been concentrated in the hands of the executive, institutional checks and balances have been undermined, independent media have been repressed, and opposition forces have been marginalized in governing institutions, such as congress, courts, oversight agencies, the state-owned petroleum company (PDVSA), and the military.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Brewer-Carías |first=Allan R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2m9-gYOs9K4C |title=Dismantling Democracy in Venezuela: The Chávez Authoritarian Experiment |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-49235-5 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":9" />

Politics are polarized between supporters of [[President of Venezuela|President]] [[Nicolás Maduro]], organized as the [[United Socialist Party of Venezuela|United Socialist Party]] (PSUV) and the [[Great Patriotic Pole]], and several opposition parties. Opposition parties and opposition candidates have regularly been banned from contesting [[Elections in Venezuela|elections]].<ref name=":5" /> At other times, opposition parties have boycotted national elections, citing their undemocratic nature.<ref name=":5" />

The PSUV was created in 2007, uniting a number of smaller parties supporting [[Hugo Chávez]]'s [[Bolivarian Revolution]] with Chávez's [[Fifth Republic Movement]]. PSUV and its forerunners have held the presidency since 1998, and the legislature during most of that time. The [[Democratic Unity Roundtable]] (''Mesa de la Unidad Democrática'', MUD), created in 2008, unites much of the opposition ([[A New Era]] (UNT), [[Project Venezuela]], [[Justice First]], [[Movement for Socialism (Venezuela)]] and others). Hugo Chávez, the central figure of the Venezuelan political landscape since [[1998 Venezuelan presidential election|his election to the Presidency in 1998]] as a political outsider, died in office in early 2013, and was succeeded by Maduro (initially as interim President, before narrowly winning the [[2013 Venezuelan presidential election]]).

== Parties and leaders ==
[[File:PFLCaracas.jpg|thumb|[[National Assembly (Venezuela)|National Assembly]] building]]

=== Governing party ===
United Socialist Party of Venezuela or PSUV – (Nicolás Maduro), partially recognized. Up to 60 countries, including United States and the European Union have recognized Juan Guaidó (MUD) as the President of Venezuela. As of 2021, the European Union no longer recognizes Juan Guaidó as interim president of Venezuela.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-eu/eu-states-no-longer-recognise-guaido-as-venezuelas-interim-president-idUSKBN29U1A3|website=[[Reuters]] |title=EU states no longer recognise Guaido as Venezuela's interim president |date=25 January 2021 }}</ref>

=== Non-governing parties ===
* A New Time or UNT – ([[Manuel Rosales]])
* Brave People's Alliance or ABP – (Richard Blanco)
* Christian Democrats or COPEI – [[Juan Carlos Alvarado (politician)|Juan Carlos Alvarado]]
* Coalition of opposition parties –The Democratic Unity Table or MUD – (Jose Luis Cartaya)
* Communist Party of Venezuela or PCV – (Oscar Figuera)
* Democratic Action or AD – (Henry Ramos Allup)
* Fatherland for All or PPT – (Rafael Uzcategui)
* For Social Democracy or [[Podemos (Spanish political party)|PODEMOS]] – (Didalco Antonio Bolivar Groterol)
* [[Justice First]] or PJ – ([[Julio Borges]])
* Movement Toward Socialism or MAS – (Segundo Melendaz)
* Popular Will or VP – ([[Leopoldo López|Leopoldo Lopez]])
* Progressive Wave or AP – ([[Henri Falcón|Henri Falcon]])
* The Radical Cause or [[Radical Cause|La Causa R]] – (Americo De Grazia)
* Venezuelan Progressive Movement or MPV – (Simon Calzadilla)
* Venezuela Project or PV – (Henrique Fernando Salas Feo)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/venezuela/|title=The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency|website=www.cia.gov|language=en|access-date=21 October 2018}}</ref>

==History==
Venezuelan politics was characterized by military rule for much of its post-independence history.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Lott|first=Leo B.|date=1956|title=Executive Power in Venezuela|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0003055400067484/type/journal_article|journal=American Political Science Review|language=en|volume=50|issue=2|pages=422–441|doi=10.2307/1951677|jstor=1951677 |s2cid=143931136 |issn=0003-0554}}</ref> From independence until 1956, Venezuela had 24 constitutions.<ref name=":4" /> These constitutions were frequently established by winners after successful revolts.<ref name=":4" />

Romulo Gallegos's election as president in 1947 made him the first freely elected [[President of Venezuela|president]] in Venezuela's history.<ref name=":4" /> He was removed from power by military officers in the [[1948 Venezuelan coup d'état|1948 Venezuelan coup]].<ref name=":4" />

===1958–1999===
{{Disputed section|date=July 2018}}
{{Main|American Confederation of Venezuela|Republic of Venezuela}}

[[File:Miraflores 2010.JPG|thumb|[[Miraflores Palace]], seat of the [[executive power]]]]
Background to the current political landscapes is the development of [[democracy in Venezuela]] during the twentieth century, in which [[Democratic Action (Venezuela)|Democratic Action]] (AD<sup>x</sup> or Acción Democrática in Spanish, founded in 1941) and its predecessors played an important role in the early years. Democratic Action led the government during Venezuela's first democratic period ([[El Trienio Adeco|1945–1948]]). After an intervening decade of dictatorship ([[History of Venezuela (1948–58)|1948–1958]]) and the fall of dictator [[Marcos Pérez Jiménez]]<ref name="scielo.br">{{cite journal|title=Venezuela: political changes in the Chávez era|first=Rafael Duarte|last=Villa|date=1 December 2005|journal=Estudos Avançados|volume=19|issue=55|pages=153–172|doi=10.1590/S0103-40142005000300011|doi-access=free}}</ref> saw AD<sup>x</sup> excluded from power, four [[President of Venezuela|Venezuelan presidents]] came from Democratic Action from the 1960s to the 1990s. This period, known as the "Fourth Republic", is marked by the development of the 1958 [[Punto Fijo Pact]] between the major parties (originally including the [[Democratic Republican Union]], which later dwindled in significance).{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}<ref>{{Cite journal |date=September 12, 2018 |title=Venezuela in Crisis: A Backgrounder |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354526829 |journal= Elements|doi=10.6017/eurj.v14i1.10333 |last1=Mejia |first1=Jorge Steven |volume=14 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |date=April 2009 |title=Venezuela, Exclusionary Democracy and Resistance 1958-1998 |chapter=Venezuela, Exclusionary Democracy and Resistance, 1958–1998 |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338701026 |doi=10.1002/9781405198073.wbierp1522 |last1=Wilpert |first1=Gregory |last2=Azzellini |first2=Dario |pages=1–6 |isbn=978-1-4051-8464-9 }}</ref>

By the end of the 1990s, however, the now two-party system's credibility was almost nonexistent.<ref name="scielo.br"/> This was mostly because of the corruption and poverty that Venezuelans experienced as oil wealth poured in during the 1970s and the debt crisis developed during the 1980s. Democratic Action's last president ([[Carlos Andrés Pérez]]) was impeached for corruption in 1993 and spent two years under [[house arrest]] as a result. The other main traditional party [[Copei]], provided two Venezuelan presidents ([[Rafael Caldera]], 1969–1974, and [[Luis Herrera Campins]], 1979–1983). Confidence in the traditional parties collapsed enough that [[Rafael Caldera]] won the 1993 presidential election with about 30% of the vote, representing a new electoral coalition [[National Convergence (Venezuela)|National Convergence]]. By 1998, support for Democratic Action and COPEI had fallen still further, and Hugo Chávez, a political outsider, won the 1998 election.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Venezuela's Chavez Era |url=https://www.cfr.org/timeline/venezuelas-chavez-era |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=Council on Foreign Relations |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Venezuela: political parties {{!}} Think Tank {{!}} European Parliament |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_ATA(2015)556978 |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=www.europarl.europa.eu |language=en}}</ref>

===1999–2013===
{{Main|History of Venezuela (1999–present)}}
Chávez launched what he called the "[[Bolivarian Revolution]]" and fulfilled an election promise by calling a [[1999 Constituent Assembly of Venezuela|Constituent Assembly in 1999]], which drafted the new [[Constitution of Venezuela]]. Chávez was granted executive power by the [[National Assembly (Venezuela)|National Assembly]] to [[rule by decree]] multiple times throughout his tenure,<ref name="polar">
{{cite web|url=http://www.fpolar.org.ve/Encarte/fasciculo24/fasc2402.html|title=Historia de Venezuela en Imágenes. Capítulo VIII 1973 /1983. La Gran Venezuela|work=La experiencia democrática 1958 / 1998|publisher=Fundación Polar|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206000939/http://www.fpolar.org.ve/Encarte/fasciculo24/fasc2402.html|archive-date=6 February 2007|url-status=dead|access-date=21 January 2007}}
</ref><ref name="globovision20061128">
{{cite web|url=http://www.globovision.com/news.php?nid=43974|title=El tema: Historia democrática venezolana|date=28 November 2006|publisher=[[Globovisión]]|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070207031450/http://www.globovision.com/news.php?nid=43974|archive-date=7 February 2007|url-status=dead|access-date=21 January 2007}}
</ref><ref name="cidob">
{{cite web|url=http://www.cidob.org/es/documentacion/biografias_lideres_politicos/america_del_sur/venezuela/ramon_jose_velasquez_mujica|title=Ramón José Velásquez Mújica|date=21 September 2006|publisher=Centro de Investigación de Relaciones Internacionales y desarrollo|language=es|access-date=21 January 2007}}
</ref> passing hundreds of laws. Chávez ruled Venezuela by decree in 2000,<ref name="DAILY">{{cite news|url=http://www.nation.co.ke/news/world/Venezuela-grants-Chavez-power-to-rule-by-decree-/-/1068/1074822/-/view/printVersion/-/h2nxp5z/-/index.html|title=Venezuela grants Chavez power to rule by decree|date=18 December 2010|access-date=12 May 2016|agency=[[Daily Nation]]|archive-date=12 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512090947/http://www.nation.co.ke/news/world/Venezuela-grants-Chavez-power-to-rule-by-decree-/-/1068/1074822/-/view/printVersion/-/h2nxp5z/-/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> 2001,<ref name="DAILY" /> 2004,<ref name="GUARDfamily">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/dec/06/chavez-family-venezuela|title=A family affair|last1=Carroll|first1=Rory|date=5 December 2008|access-date=12 May 2016|agency=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> 2005,<ref name="GUARDfamily" /> 2006,<ref name="GUARDfamily" /> 2007,<ref name="BBCchavezDECREE">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6277379.stm|title=Rule by decree passed for Chavez|date=19 January 2007|access-date=12 May 2016|agency=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> 2008,<ref name="DAILY" /><ref name="BBCchavezDECREE" /> 2010,<ref name="DAILY" /><ref name="CNNdecree">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/11/world/americas/hugo-chavez---fast-facts/|title=Hugo Chavez Fast Facts|date=16 July 2013|access-date=12 May 2016|agency=[[CNN]]}}</ref> 2011<ref name="DAILY" /><ref name="CNNdecree" /> and 2012.<ref name="DAILY" /><ref name="CNNdecree" /> 
The [[United Socialist Party of Venezuela]] (''Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela'', PSUV) was created in 2007, uniting a number of smaller parties supporting [[Hugo Chávez]]'s [[Bolivarian Revolution]] with Chávez's [[Fifth Republic Movement]]. The [[Democratic Unity Roundtable]] (''Mesa de la Unidad Democrática'', MUD), created in 2008, united much of the opposition ([[A New Era]] (UNT), [[Project Venezuela]], [[Justice First]], [[Movement for Socialism (Venezuela)]] and others). In 2008, the government expelled the US-based [[Human Rights Watch]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20201113160639/https://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN1940239020080919 Reuters News] retrieved 22 September 2009</ref> which was criticizing the government's [[Human rights in Venezuela|Human rights]] record. [[Hugo Chávez]], the central figure of the Venezuelan political landscape since [[1998 Venezuelan presidential election|his election to the presidency in 1998]] as a political outsider, died in office in early 2013 after a long struggle with cancer. Nearing his death, Chávez expressed his intention that his vice president would succeed him.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-21731336|title=Venezuela sets post-Chavez poll date|date=10 March 2013|work=BBC News|access-date=21 October 2018|language=en-GB}}</ref> Chavez was succeeded by [[Nicolás Maduro]], his vice president, initially as interim President, before he narrowly won the 2013 Venezuelan presidential election.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}

=== 2013–Present ===
{{Main|History of Venezuela (1999–present)|Elections in Venezuela=Elections in Venezuela}}
Nicolás Maduro has been president of Venezuela from 2013 to the present. His rule has been marked by a continuation of [[Bolivarian]] socialist populist policies (at least until 2020), but also by a severe economic crisis -- [[hyperinflation]]  (53,798,500% between 2016 and April 2019),<ref name="Al Dia">{{Cite news|url=http://www.venezuelaaldia.com/2019/05/28/banco-central-venezuela-hiperinflacion-2016/|title=BCV admits hyperinflation of 53,798,500% since 2016|date=28 May 2019|work=Venezuela Al Dia|access-date=5 June 2019|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529191528/http://www.venezuelaaldia.com/2019/05/28/banco-central-venezuela-hiperinflacion-2016/|archive-date=29 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> escalating hunger,<ref>{{cite news |title=One in three Venezuelans not getting enough to eat, UN finds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/24/venezuela-hungry-food-insecure-un-world-food-program|access-date=10 March 2020 |agency=The Guardian |date=24 February 2020}}</ref> disease, crime and mortality rates,<ref name="Larmer-1-11-18">{{cite news |author=Larmer, Brook |title=What 52,000 Percent Inflation Can Do to a Country |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/01/magazine/venezuela-inflation-economics.html |access-date=2 November 2018 |agency=New York Times |date=1 November 2018}}</ref> and mass emigration (almost 5 million from the country as of 2019).<ref name="wb-migration">{{cite web |title=Venezuelan Migration: The 4,500-Kilometer Gap Between Desperation and Opportunity |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2019/11/26/migracion-venezolana-4500-kilometros-entre-el-abandono-y-la-oportunidad#:~:text=Venezuelan%20migration%20is%20not%20abating,Latin%20American%20countries%20like%20Peru.&text=According%20to%20the%20UNHCR%2C%20between,leave%20the%20country%20every%20day. |website=World Bank.org |access-date=20 November 2020 |date=26 November 2019}}</ref> Extrajudicial killings of opposition by government forces are reported (by the [[United Nations]]) to include 6800 deaths as of 2019.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/04/world/americas/venezuela-police-abuses.html "Venezuela Forces Killed Thousands, Then Covered It Up, U.N. Says."] New York Times. 5 July 2019.</ref>

The crisis has been variously blamed on [[2010s oil glut|low oil prices in early 2015]];<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/even-sex-is-in-crisis-in-venezuela-where-contraceptives-are-growing-scarce/2017/11/27/5d970d86-b452-11e7-9b93-b97043e57a22_story.html|title=Even sex is in crisis in Venezuela, where contraceptives are growing scarce|author=Mariana Zuñiga and Anthony Faiola}}<br />* {{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/06/venezuela-populism-fail/525321/|title=How Populism Helped Wreck Venezuela|author=Uri Friedman|website=[[The Atlantic]] |date=4 June 2017}}</ref> on an "economic war" on Venezuelan socialism<ref name="GDPShrink">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-economy-idUSKBN154244|title=Venezuela 2016 inflation hits 800 percent, GDP shrinks 19 percent: document|date=20 January 2017|work=Reuters|access-date=1 May 2017}}</ref> waged by international sanctions, and the country's business elite;<ref name=aljazer-3-1-2019>{{cite news|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/venezuela-crisis-country-190117184349473.html|title=Venezuela in crisis: How did the country get here?|author=Melimopoulos, Elizabeth|date=21 January 2019|work=Al Jazeera|access-date=23 March 2019}}</ref> and on  "years of economic mismanagement, and corruption",<ref name=aljazer-3-1-2019/> including a lack of maintenance and investment in oil production.<ref name="Larmer-1-11-18"/>

==== 2013 ====
On 14 April 2013 elections were held between Nicolás Maduro and [[Henrique Capriles|Henrique Capriles Radonski]], opposition leader and co founder of the political party, Primero Justicia. The Venezuelan election agency announced that Maduro won with 50.8 percent of the vote, the smallest presidential win margin since the [[1968 Venezuelan general election|1968 election]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-election-idUSBRE93C0B120130415|title=Venezuela opposition demands vote recount, protests flare|last=Ellsworth|first=Brian|work=U.S.|access-date=21 October 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> Opposition forces said that Henrique Capriles Radonski actually won by close to 300,000 votes and proposed evidence of voter fraud.<ref name=":0" /> Capriles demanded a recount that in June reaffirmed Maduro as the victor. These results sparked subsequent demonstrations and protests by those who said the recount process was also illegitimate.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Carriquiry|first=Alicia L.|date=November 2011|title=Election Forensics and the 2004 Venezuelan Presidential Recall Referendum as a Case Study|journal=Statistical Science|language=EN|volume=26|issue=4|pages=471–478|doi=10.1214/11-STS379|issn=0883-4237|arxiv=1205.3009|s2cid=9646736}}</ref> Maduro and his government responded with suppression of the opposition that resulted in hundreds of arrests, that Maduro claimed to be in defense of a coup he was facing.<ref>{{Cite book|title=El ocaso del chavismo : Venezuela 2005–2015|last=Margarita.|first=López Maya|author-link1=Margarita Lopez Maya|isbn=9788417014254|oclc=973928217|date = 21 December 2016|publisher=Editorial Alfa }}</ref>

Maduro attempted to continue the [[Chavismo]] policies. Like Chávez, Nicolás Maduro has ruled by decree multiple times since he was elected in April 2013. President Maduro has ruled Venezuela by decree for the majority of the period from 19 November 2013<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/venezuelan-president-maduro-given-power-to-rule-by-decree/2013/11/19/af304c3c-516b-11e3-9ee6-2580086d8254_story.html|title=Venezuelan president Maduro given power to rule by decree|last1=Diaz-Struck|first1=Emilia|date=19 November 2013|access-date=27 April 2015|agency=[[The Washington Post]]|last2=Forero|first2=Juan}} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/865130925 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/865127887 cite No. 14 – verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref> through 2017.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-31899510|title=Venezuela: President Maduro granted power to govern by decree|date=16 March 2015|access-date=27 April 2015|agency=[[BBC News]]}} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/865130925 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/865127887 cite No. 15 – verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/16/venezuela-president-declares-economic-emergency-as-inflation-hits-141|title=Venezuela president declares economic emergency as inflation hits 141%|last=Brodzinsky|first=Sibylla|date=15 January 2016|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=24 February 2016|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/865130925 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/865127887 cite No. 16 – verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/venezuela-is-going-to-shut-down-for-a-whole-week-because-of-an-energy-crisis-a6939246.html|title=Venezuela is going to shut down for a whole week because of an energy crisis|last1=Worely|first1=Will|date=18 March 2016|access-date=12 May 2016|agency=[[The Independent]]}} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/865130925 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/865127887 cite No. 17 – verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-venezuela-contreras-20170517-story.html|title=Human rights activists say many Venezuelan protesters face abusive government treatment|last1=Kraul|first1=Chris|date=17 May 2017|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=22 May 2017}} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/865130925 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/865127887 cite No. 18 – verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.lapatilla.com/site/2017/07/18/gobierno-extiende-por-decima-vez-el-decreto-de-emergencia-economica/|title=Gobierno extiende por décima vez el decreto de emergencia económica|date=18 July 2017|work=[[La Patilla]]|access-date=19 July 2017|language=es-ES}} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/865130925 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/865127887 cite No. 19 – verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref> Maduro has not achieved the same level of popularity that Chávez had during his presidency, demonstrated by the narrow early presidential election win. Many attribute Maduro's failure to continue the same populism model successfully to his lack of charisma that Chávez capitalized on. Chávez's opposition reported to still have large love and respect for Chávez during his presidency, Eric Olsen, deputy director of the Latin American Program at the Wilson Center reports.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/08/23/nicolas-maduro-venezeula-president/573363001/|title=Why is Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro so controversial?|work=USA TODAY|access-date=21 October 2018|language=en}}</ref> Olsen notes that this was not the same case with Maduro, who clearly lacks the same amount of captivating characteristics.<ref name=":1" />

==== 2015 ====
2015 was a strong year for the MUD opposition, taking two-thirds of the congressional sets, [[2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election|a super majority]]. This was the first time in 16 years that PSUV did not have the majority in congress and this was not due to low voter turnout, as it was at 74.3%.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35033778|title=Venezuela opposition 'has key majority'|date=7 December 2015|work=BBC News|access-date=26 November 2018|language=en-GB}}</ref>  Henrique Capriles a former MUD presidential candidate and the opposition coalition leader, Jesus Torrealba marked this as a change in the nation's history encouraging celebration with Torrealba stating, "Venezuela wanted a change and that change came. A new majority expressed itself and sent a clear and resounding message."<ref name=":2" /> Maduro stated in his televised response, "We have come with our morality and our ethics to recognize these adverse results, to accept them and to tell our Venezuela, The Constitution and democracy have triumphed", and later said "In Venezuela the opposition has not won ... For now, a counterrevolution that is at our doorstep has won".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/07/world/americas/venezuela-elections.html|title=Venezuelan Opposition Claims a Rare Victory: A Legislative Majority|newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 December 2015 |access-date=26 November 2018|language=en|last1=Neuman |first1=William }}</ref>

==== 2017 ====
The strong performance by the opposition led to the reduction of the legislative powers due to the judiciary's increased scope and politicization.  The Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), controlled by the PSUV, invalidated three deputies' elections from the opposition. When this ruling was not accepted by the Assembly, its powers were stripped.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Latin American politics and development|others=Kline, Harvey F.,, Wade, Christine J.|date=18 July 2017|isbn=9780813350509|edition= Ninth |location=New York, NY|oclc=962551647}}</ref> By 2017, the old legislative body was dismissed and transformed into the [[2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election|New Constituent National Assembly]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2018/venezuela|title=Venezuela|website=freedomhouse.org|language=en|access-date=26 November 2018|date=5 January 2018}}</ref> This was similar to the [[1999 Constituent Assembly of Venezuela|Constituent Assembly in 1999]], having power to change the constitution and dismantle pre-existing officials and/or the bodies themselves.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/08/01/venezuelas-dubious-new-constituent-assembly-explained/|title=Analysis {{!}} Venezuela's controversial new Constituent Assembly, explained|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en|access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref> The members of the Constituent Assembly were chosen in July 2017, during elections that were largely boycotted by the opposition, with accusations of illegitimacy.<ref name=":3" />

====2020====
In 2020, news reports described a loosening of many socialist/redistributive economic policies—price and currency controls, stringent labor laws—by the Maduro government, along with an rapprochement with members of the capitalist community—especially [[Lorenzo Mendoza]] of the [[Empresas Polar]] conglomerate who is no longer denounced as a  "thief," a "parasite" and a "traitor".  Changes such as the return of agricultural land and "dozens of companies" to private management have allowed the government to survive economic sanctions (though economic production and employment is still greatly reduced), and have proceeded in exchange for an abandonment of political opposition by Mendoza.<ref name="Kurmanaev-2020">{{cite news |last1=Kurmanaev |first1=Anatoly |title=Venezuela's Socialists Embrace Business, Making Partner of a 'Parasite' |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/23/world/americas/venezuela-economy-polar.html |access-date=20 November 2020 |agency=New York Times |date=23 February 2020}}</ref> Another result of the [[economic liberalization]] is that erstwhile socialist allies of Maduro's government who began to protest corruption and the "extravagant lives flaunted by the government's cronies in supermarkets stocked with expensive imports and luxury car showrooms", have become victims to the same security apparatus that have attacked Maduro's opponents on the right—they have been denounced as traitors, arrested (leaders of the [[Communist Party of Venezuela|Communist]] and [[Tupamaro (Venezuela)|Tupamaro]] parties), beaten and sometimes assassinated  (the fate of radio host José Carmelo Bislick).<ref name="nyt-championed-19-11-2020">{{cite news |last1=Herrera |first1=Isayen |last2=Kurmanaev |first2=Anatoly |last3=Romero |first3=Tibisay |last4=Urdaneta |first4=Sheyla |title=They Championed Benezuela's Revolution. They Are Now Its Latest Victims |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/19/world/americas/venezuela-maduro-critics-repression.html |access-date=20 November 2020 |agency=New York Times |date=19 November 2020}}</ref>

==Miscellaneous==
Venezuela abolished the [[capital punishment|death penalty]] in 1863, making it the country where this practice has been outlawed the longest.<ref>Amnesty International USA. [http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish/abret2.html Abolitionist and Retentionist Countries.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202201218/http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish/abret2.html |date=2 February 2007 }}  Retrieved 19 August 2006</ref><ref>[http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0777460.html The Death Penalty Worldwide.] [[Infoplease|InfoPlease]]. Retrieved 19 August 2006.</ref>

There is a history of tension between church and state in the country. The Catholic Church has accused Chavez of concentrating power in his own hands. In 2009, in the Catholic Church's Easter address to the nation, the bishops said the country's democracy was in "serious danger of collapse."<ref>''The Tablet'', "Bishop faces down threats from ruling party." 25 April 2009, p. 38</ref>

==Elections==
{{Main|Elections in Venezuela}}
{{See also|List of political parties in Venezuela}}
Venezuela elects at a national level the [[President of Venezuela]] as [[head of state]] and [[head of government]] and a [[unicameralism|unicameral]] [[federalism|federal]] [[legislature]]. The President of Venezuela is elected for a six-year term by [[direct election]] [[plurality voting system|plurality voting]] and is eligible for re-election since the [[2009 Venezuelan constitutional referendum]]) The [[National Assembly of Venezuela|National Assembly]] ''(Asamblea Nacional)'' has 165 members ''(diputados)'', elected for five-year terms. Elections also take place at [[States of Venezuela|state level]] and local level.

On 25 April 2023, representatives from 19 nations, including the [[European Union]], attended a conference that was intended to rekindle negotiations between Nicolás Maduro's government in Venezuela and the opposition political parties, but it had no noticeable impact.[https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/us-eu-latin-american-countries-meet-to-encourage-venezuela-elections/]

===Latest elections===
{{Main|Elections in Venezuela#Latest elections}}

Most recent elections:{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}
* municipal: [[2017 Venezuelan municipal elections]]
* parliamentary: [[2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election]]
* regional: [[2017 Venezuelan regional elections]]
* presidential: [[2013 Venezuelan presidential election]]
* constituent assembly: [[2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election]]

==See also==
* [[Censorship in Venezuela]]
* [[Chavismo]]
* [[Human rights in Venezuela]]
* [[Public Ministry of Venezuela]]
* [[Student politics in Venezuela]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.presidencia.gob.ve/ Presidency of Venezuela]
* [http://www.asambleanacionalvenezuela.org/ National Assembly of Venezuela]
* [http://www.tsj.gob.ve/inicio Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela]

{{Venezuela topics}}
{{Americas topic|Politics of}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Politics of Venezuela}}
[[Category:Politics of Venezuela| ]]