RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Nicolas Maduro on being re-elected President of Venezuela, noting the strategic partnership between Moscow and Caracas.
‘Russian-Venezuelan relations have the nature of a strategic partnership. I am confident that your activity as head of state will continue to contribute to their progressive development on all tracks,’ Putin said as quoted on the Kremlin’s Telegram channel.
‘This fully meets the interests of our friendly peoples and goes in line with building a more fair and democratic world order.
‘I would like to reaffirm our readiness to continue our constructive joint work on key issues on the bilateral and international agenda,’ the Russian president added.
Venezuela’s incumbent President Nicolas Maduro won the country’s presidential election on Sunday, President of the National Electoral Council of Venezuela Elvis Amoroso confirmed.
According to the council’s first statement, after counting 80% of ballots, Maduro was supported by 5,150,092 voters or 51.2%, securing a third six-year term in office.
A total of 21,620,705 Venezuelan voters in the country and 228,000 voters residing abroad were entitled to exercise their right to vote, in the more than 15,000 polling stations spread across the country.
The election day began at 06:00 local time (10:00 GMT) and ended at 18:00 (22:00 GMT). The elections were accompanied by a wide international audience, with participants from all over the world, including foreign observers from the United States Carter Centre, the Council of Electoral Experts of Latin America, the United Nations Panel of Experts and others.
Among the thousands of companions are politicians, academics, parliamentarians, intellectuals, journalists and personalities from Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, North America and Asia.
Russian Ambassador to Venezuela Sergey Melik-Bagdasarov said that ‘the convincing victory of Nicolas Maduro in the elections’ will allow the comprehensive strengthening of the Russian-Venezuelan strategic partnership.
A number of countries, including Bolivia, Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua and Honduras, also congratulated Maduro on his victory.
Maduro’s main rival, far-right candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, got 4,445,978 votes, representing 44.2% of all those who voted, while a combined 4.6% of voters cast their ballots for one of the other eight candidates.
One of Venezuela’s opposition leaders, Maria Corina Machado, said that Edmundo Gonzalez and his campaign team would not recognise his defeat.
Argentinian President Javier Milei said that his country will not recognise Maduro’s victory because it considers opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez to be the rightful winner.
The Chilean government will not recognise the results of the Venezuelan election until they are confirmed by international observers, Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren said.
The US authorities have ‘serious concerns’ that the results of the presidential election announced by the Venezuelan authorities ‘do not reflect the will of the people,’ Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
The Peruvian authorities refused to recognise the results of the Venezuelan election, Foreign Minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea said. The country also recalled its ambassador for consultations.
Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry said that nine Latin American countries had attempted to interfere in the election.
The ministry said the governments of Argentina, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay were ‘trying to distort the peaceful expression of the will’ of the people.
Nicolás Maduro,
President for the Period 2024-2030
Maduro was born on November 23, 1962 in Caracas and has gone through a political path that took him from his humble beginnings in the parish of El Valle to the presidency of Venezuela. His career reflects a constant dedication to the social and labour causes that have defined his career.
Maduro started his political activism in the 80s with the Socialist League, but it was his job as conductor of the Caracas Metro (1991-1998) which marked the beginning of their struggle for labour rights.
During this period, he founded the Caracas Metro Union (SITRAMECA), demonstrating his leadership and organisational skills.
The meeting with Commander Hugo Chávez in 1993 was a turning point in his career. Maduro became an ardent supporter of Chávez, joining the Bolivarian Revolutionary Movement 200 (MBR-200) and later the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR).
His rise in Venezuelan politics was rapid: In 1999 he was elected as a deputy and participated in the National Constituent Assembly that drafted the new Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, approved by popular will.
Between 2000 and 2006, Nicolás Maduro held various roles in the National Assembly, including the presidency of the parliament. His legislative experience covered key commissions such as Integral Social Development and Finance, preparing him for larger roles in government.
Chávez recognised the potential of Maduro, appointing him Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2006, where he was a central player in the bid to build a multipolar world, to promote Latin American integration and build peace.
He then took up the position of Vice President in 2012. Chávez’s confidence in Maduro became evident when he appointed him as his successor before his last surgery.
After the death of Commander Hugo Chavez in 2013, Nicolás Maduro won the presidential election by a narrow margin.
His presidency has been marked by significant challenges, including the imposition of sanctions by the United States government and the European Union.
This has triggered an unprecedented economic crisis and multiple international pressures. However, he has maintained the support of a loyal base, implementing programmes such as the ‘Government of the Streets’ to keep in touch with his followers.
President Nicolás Maduro has been re-elected in 2018 and 2024, and is the legitimate continuator of Chávez’s legacy and defender of Venezuelan sovereignty against imperialist conspiracies.
The president’s career, from his beginnings as a trade unionist to his current position as president re-elected, illustrates a political career marked by determination, coherence and resistance, reflecting the deep Bolivarian and anti-imperialist convictions of the majority Venezuelan people.
Programme of Government of Nicolás Maduro: The Seven Transformations Towards 2030
On January 15, in his annual message to the nation, President Maduro urged Venezuelans to deepen, discuss and plan the collective elaboration of the Seven Transformations (7T), aimed at preserving peace and building a new economic and productive model that guarantees social welfare.
Precisely, its government programme is based on the 7T, which is also based on the Homeland Plan and, as explained by the president, it has been conceived and written by the people.
According to the head of state, the Venezuelan people have been consulted for the implementation of the 7T, in order to consolidate the changes with their contributions.
The first point of the 7T is economy and the development of a new production model to deal with inflation; science, technology, education and culture are placed in second place, thus recovering all the Venezuelan infrastructure that has been damaged by sanctions and coercive and unilateral measures.
The third aspect is national security and defence, which ranges from the consolidation of social peace to the recovery of the territory of Guayana Esequiba.
The consolidation of the public character of social rights and the improvement of government management to assist Venezuelans in their needs are the fourth and fifth elements of the 7T, to finance social projects that contribute to the quality of life of the people.
The sixth point of the 7T is aimed at combating climate change, based on a culture of caring for nature, The promotion of alternative energy sources and the establishment of a food production scheme.
While the last element of the government plan emphasises the strengthening of international relations, which aims to add Venezuela to the BRICS group, to consolidate the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and expand the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP).
