Presidency of Nicolás Maduro
| Nicolás Maduro | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| President of Venezuela | |
|
Assumed office 19 April 2013 Acting: 5 March 2013 – 19 April 2013 |
|
| Vice President |
Jorge Arreaza (2013–16) Aristobulo Isturiz (since 2016) |
| Preceded by | Hugo Chávez |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | United Socialist Party |
On 14 April 2013 Nicolás Maduro was elected President of Venezuela, narrowly defeating opposition candidate Henrique Capriles with just 1.5% of the vote separating the two candidates. Capriles immediately demanded a recount, refusing to recognize the outcome as valid. Maduro was later formally inaugurated as President on 19 April, after the election commission had promised a full audit of the election results. On 24 October 2013, he announced the creation of a new agency, the Vice Ministry of Supreme Happiness, to coordinate all the social programmes.
Beginning six months after being elected, Maduro has ruled by decree for the majority of his presidency: from 19 November 2013 to 19 November 2014, 15 March 2015 to 31 December 2015, 15 January 2016 to present.
In October 2013, Maduro requested an enabling law to rule by decree in order to fight corruption and to also fight what he called an "economic war". On 19 November 2013, the National Assembly granted Maduro the power to rule by decree until 19 November 2014.
On 10 March 2015, Maduro asked to rule by decree for a second time following the sanctioning of seven Venezuelan officials by the United States, requesting the Enabling Law to be used to "confront" what Maduro called "the aggression of the most powerful country in the world, the United States". Days later on 15 March 2015, the National Assembly granted Maduro power to rule by decree until 31 December 2015.
After a coalition of opposition parties won in the 6 December 2015 elections, the lame duck Assembly named 13 new Justices sympathetic toward Maduro to the Supreme Court. On 15 January 2016, Maduro declared an economic emergency and issued a "vaguely worded" decree that would grant himself extraordinary powers for 60 days, or until 15 March 2016. Days after on 18 March 2016, the expiration of the decree powers, the Supreme Court granted Maduro the power to rule by decree for an additional 60 days, or until 17 May 2016.
Days before his second 60-day rule by decree were to end, Maduro stated on 11 May 2016 that he would continue to rule by decree through the rest of the year until 2017.
While meeting with the Supreme Tribunal of Justice on 15 January 2017, Maduro signed a new economic decree, extending his rule by decree for the sixth time since the original ruling in January 2016. On 19 January, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice established the "Decree on the State of Emergency and Economic Emergency", granting Maduro to rule by decree further into 2017.
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Wikipedia