Venezuelans Recall President Maduro's First Electoral Victory

On Thursday, Venezuelans remember the 9th anniversary of the electoral victory of Nicolas Maduro, who has fought the U.S. blockade, diplomatic siege, and destabilization attempts with success.

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On April 14, 2013, he won the presidential elections with 60 percent of the votes. Later, on May 20, 2018, Maduro was re-elected for the 2019-2025 term with 67.7 percent of the ballots. Below are five key policies developed by his administration.

Strengthening democracy

To guarantee voting safety, Maduro reinforced Venezuela’s automated voting system with backup and audit mechanisms that prevent computer alterations. He also promoted the participation of international observers in electoral processes.

During his administration, Venezuela has successfully held two parliamentary elections, two national consultations, one constituent assembly election, two regional elections, three municipal elections, and two primary elections.

Guaranteeing peace

U.S.-backed opposition tried to destabilize the country in 2014 and 2017 through violent demonstrations ("guarimbas"). Although mainstream private media alleged that such events were developed peacefully, at least 215 citizens died, and 800 people were injured in them.

To counteract this situation, Maduro called on the opposition to negotiate the cessation of protests several times. Although these political sectors have not agreed on all occasions to dialogue, most of the negotiations have been successful. One of them was the 2014 dialogue, which the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and the Vatican supported.

Fighting economic sanctions

According to a Latin American Strategic Center for Geopolitics (CELAG), the U.S. and EU blockades against Venezuela have prompted US$350 billion losses to this Latin American country between 2013 and 2017.

To fight this situation, Maduro expanded his country's economic cooperation and trade ties with China, India, Russia, Iran, and Turkey. He also created the "Petro," a cryptocurrency which is backed by natural reserves such as oil, diamond, iron, and gold.

Development of peace diplomacy

During the Maduro administration, Venezuela denounced before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) the U.S. arbitrary sanctions and called for respect for peoples' self-determination.

Besides strengthening diplomatic relations with Russia, China, Turkey, India, and African countries, Maduro withdrew Venezuela from the U.S.-led Organization of American States (OAS), which assumed a policy of direct interference against his government.

Social protection boosting 

Maduro has strengthened the social programs created by Commander Hugo Chavez with the delivery of 4 million new dwellings to the population and the creation of the Local Committee of Supply and Production (CLAP), which organizes food distribution to vulnerable families.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recognized his management of the pandemic, including the development of a mass vaccination campaign and the preventive isolation program.

As of April 14, Venezuela had reported 521,714 coronavirus cases and 5,698 related deaths, 2 of which occurred in the last 24 hours.