Maduro told to step down by Venezuelan general Vlad Padrino
Venezuela’s crisis deepens by the day. But Maduro is celebrating the start of six more years in office.
By Rachelle Krygier and
Anthony Faiola January 9 at 12:48 PM
CARACAS, Venezuela — President Nicolás Maduro is set to be sworn in for a second term Thursday at a moment when there is little for him to celebrate.
His country is collapsing. There are signs of dissent in his inner circle. Socialist Venezuela is increasingly isolated, and its neighborhood has never been more unfriendly.
And yet, after an election in May tainted by allegations of fraud, Maduro begins his next six-year stint seemingly in a position of relative strength at home. According to Félix Seijas, head of the Caracas-based polling firm Delphos, the president remains extraordinarily unpopular, but so does his opposition — perhaps even more so.
Massive pro-democracy protests filled Venezuela’s streets for months in 2017. But after a brutal government response left more than 100 people dead, public demonstrations are now largely confined to smaller, more pragmatic rallies protesting water shortages and power blackouts.
“It is risky to predict 2019 will mark the end of Maduro’s authoritarian rule,” said Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank. “Some have been saying his days are numbered since he came to power nearly six years ago. For various reasons, he has proven to be more resilient than many expected.”
Maduro, the anointed successor of left-wing firebrand Hugo Chávez, who died in 2013, is nevertheless entering a far more precarious era of leadership.
According to a U.S. intelligence official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters freely, Maduro’s defense minister, Vladimir Padrino López, told the president last month to step down or accept his resignation — a threat he has yet to act on.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/venezuelas-crisis-deepens-by-the-day-but-maduro-is-celebrating-the-start-of-six-more-years-in-office/2019/01/08/695a7d58-0ed6-11e9-8f0c-6f878a26288a_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a8c01f6d5307
Cuban puppetmasters must be getting "twitchy"?
