Venezuela tumbles deeper into dictatorship with Nicolás Maduro set to extend 12-year rule
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Global democratic leaders pledge a boycott as exiled opposition leader vows to return to challenge ceremony. Venezuela’s tumble into authoritarianism is poised to enter an even harsher new phase this week with Nicolás Maduro set to extend his 12-year rule despite widespread suspicions that he stole last year’s presidential election.
The man widely believed to have won that vote – retired diplomat Edmundo González – fled abroad to escape a draconian post-election crackdown but has vowed to return home to challenge Maduro’s planned inauguration on Friday. Maduro’s feared interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, warned the 75-year-old he will be arrested if he tries. “Come! We’re waiting for you!” he goaded González on Monday.
Cabello insisted the start of Maduro’s third six-year term would not be derailed and scotched suggestions the military would switch sides – something the opposition is urging it to do. “The barracks are calm,” claimed Cabello, who has ordered a major deployment of security forces to quell dissent.
Observers say Maduro’s expected inauguration – which the leaders of most democratic governments will boycott – represents a painful milestone in the slow collapse of one of South America’s largest democracies. John Polga-Hecimovich, the co-editor of a new book called Authoritarian Consolidation in Times of Crisis. Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro, believed last year’s “blatant” election fraud exposed how regime hardliners had vanquished moderates who favoured conceding defeat to González.
