Politics, Business & Culture in the Americas

Venezuela and Nicolás Maduro: An Overview



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This article is adapted from AQ’special report on the Summit of the Americas. Click here for the full list of countries.

Venezuela

President: Nicolás Maduro

Term: 2013-2025

Maduro has consolidated power and repressed critics throughout his years in office, leading more than 6 million Venezuelans to flee the country’s dire humanitarian and security situation. Maduro’s party won key governorships in November 2021’s regional elections, which were widely considered neither free nor fair. Talks between the government and the fractured opposition in Mexico City last September were suspended. Inflation remains high, but a years-long run of hyper-inflation ended in early 2022. High oil prices, an increase in crude oil production, and dollarization have contributed to an economic rebound after a 35% decline in GDP in 2019, according to the IMF. The Maduro government has promoted mining in Venezuela’s Amazon, contributing to environmental degradation and violence in mining areas. Conflict is common along the Venezuela-Colombia border, where demobilized Colombian guerrillas and organized criminal groups fight to control territory.

To facilitate comparisons among these 10 countries,
the data is color-coded:   
High performing   
Middle performing   
Low performing

Governance

President’s approval rating N/A
Capacity to Combat Corruption Index ranking (out of 15 Latin American countries) 15
Share of adults who support democracy* N/A
Military expenditure as % GDP 0.2%

Economy

Performance:   
High   
Middle   
Low
Projected GDP growth 2022 5.3%
Projected inflation 2022 606.6%
Total trade as % of GDP N/A
Unemployment N/A
Share of labor force in informal economy N/A
Share of population living in extreme poverty N/A

Society

Performance:   
High   
Middle   
Low
Population (millions) 28.7
Homicide rate (per 100,000 people) 40.9
Annual carbon dioxide emissions (millions of tons) 84.6
Share of public social spending on education N/A
Global press freedom ranking (out of 180 countries) 148

Argentina | BrazilChileColombiaDominican RepublicEcuador | GuatemalaMexicoPeru

*NOTE: Support for democracy reflects percentage who agree that democracy is preferable to any other form of government.

Sources: Support for democracy: Latin American Public Opinion Project (2021); Capacity to Combat Corruption Index (2022); military expenditure: Stockholm International Peace Institute (2019); GDP, inflation: Bloomberg (March); population, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (2020); Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index (2021); homicide rate: InSight Crime (2021); CO2 emissions: Global Carbon Project (2020)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Reading Time: < 1 minuteSweigart is an editor at Americas Quarterly and a policy manager at the Americas Society/Council of the Americas

Follow Emilie Sweigart:   LinkedIn   |    X/Twitter

Tags: Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela
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Any opinions expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Quarterly or its publishers.
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