Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro commemorated this Friday the “10 years of battle” and “victory” given by the government he has led since the death of his predecessor and political father, Hugo Chávez.
“Imperialism underestimated us, the internal oligarchy underestimated us, they underestimated the people, they underestimated the leadership of the revolution, they underestimated me as a human being, as a leader, as a political boss,” the president said in an act with workers broadcast by the state television.
“And 10 years later we can tell you that here we are whole, standing and victorious, and ready to continue the battle for the remainder of the 21st century.”
As vice president, Maduro assumed power three days after the announcement of Chávez’s death on March 5, 2013 from cancer. Then, anointed by the socialist leader, he was elected on April 14 of that year.
“Ten years of battle, 10 years of loyalty and 10 years of victory!” celebrated the president, who is seeking re-election in 2024 for a new six-year term.
The Maduro decade has been marked by a severe and deep economic crisis, with seven years of recession and four of hyperinflation, which unleashed a deep shortage and ended the purchasing power of Venezuelans, forcing controls to be relaxed and allowing an informal dollarization that gave step to a timid recovery.
Likewise, by winning re-election in 2018 in disputed elections, Maduro received strong international rejection and was riddled with international sanctions led by the United States, which even imposed an embargo on Venezuelan crude.
The government also has an open investigation at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity, after the repression of massive protests in 2017 that left a hundred dead.
In 2024, he will also face a fractured opposition, which tried unsuccessfully to promote a parallel government with support from Washington and now seeks to choose a single candidate in primaries.
jt/dga
